Credit crunch hits Spanish tourist sector

Due to the current economic climate coupled with the strength of the euro Spanish beach resorts have received much fewer visitors this year. Where there was once a queue for renting a sun bed or sunshade there are now rows and rows of empty sun loungers available for hire on many Spanish beaches and where once hotels and restaurants had to put up signs saying they were at full capacity they are now putting up signs offering special deals because of the drastic reduction in numbers of tourists this year in Spanish holiday resorts. And to make things worse, those tourists who have remained faithful to Spanish destinations are spending much less than before.

The reduction in visitors to Spain can be partly explained by the strength of the euro against the dollar which has led to many people opting for more exotic holidays to destinations in the Caribbean or other parts of the Mediterranean.

It is estimated that tourists have spent up to 30% less than in previous years and according to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism 8% less foreigners have visited Spain so far this year. The Spanish Coordinator of Hotels has spoken of a decrease in Spanish tourists visiting resorts of up to 8 points compared to last year. Northern resorts together with the Costa Blanca, Costa del Sol and the Costa Dorada have all seen the numbers of tourists visiting their resorts go down in 2008. In contrast campsites in some areas have been fully booked all summer. The outlook for 2009 appears to be no better.

Some hotels have seen their profits drop by as much as 15% this summer which has led to some attractive offers some of which are detailed in El País today.

• In the Balearic Islands apartments are available for as little as 200 euros a week (a third down on prices last year)
• In Ibiza many clubs are not charging 60 to 70 euros entry fee as in previous years without a free drink
• In the theme park Terra Mítica near Benidorm there is now a free entry area and discounts are being offered for the rest of the park.
  
• Nearby Terra Natura is offering night time visits with barbeques and discounts to its waterpark.
• Many hotels are offering all inclusive deals or two drinks for the price of one and some hotels in the Costa del Sol are offering full board if you reserve with half board in advance
• On the Catalan coast there are promotions for 5 star hotels at the price of 4 star hotels. Other offers include children free or a 50% discount for the second child.
  

Telefonica to charge caller identification service

Telefónica has announced that it intends to start charging clients for its identification of callers service which, until now, has been free of charge. From the 1st October the Spanish telecommunications company will start charging 0.50 euros plus IVA (0.58 euros) per month for this service.

In July this year Telefónica started charging clients who don’t pay for broadband connection but the company has now taken the decision to charge all of its clients regardless of whether they pay for broadband, DUO or TRIO.

According to Telefónica 6 million of its clients use the caller identification service and out of these 4 million did not have to pay until now. Telefónica has tried to play down its decision to start charging its clients for a service which was up to now provided free of charge saying that the service used technical resources. The move will mean that Telefónica will now increase its takings by 24 million euros a year (not including the extra 12 million euros earned from clients charged as from July 1st).

The caller identification service was first introduced in 2001 with the launch of telephones with screens which showed the number of the person calling and was offered free of charge to all of its clients with this type of telephone.

Facua, a consumer association, claims that the new charge is illegal given that users did not ask for this service in the first place. Clients of Telefónica who do not wish to continue using this service can call 1004 to cancel it.

Latest news about Madrid plane crash tragedy

Video of accident at Barajas airport to be included in official investigation

Following the tragic plane accident at Barajas airport last Wednesday the judge investigating the circumstances surrounding the air crash in which over 150 people have died so far has announced that a video of the accident will be used as evidence during the investigation. The video which is the property of AENA lasting just 7 seconds is considered to be an important piece of evidence by the judge leading the investigation.

Investigations carried out to examine reports that an Argentinean television station broadcast the conversation between the pilots prior to the crash have found the claim to be false, and the Argentinean reporter has admitted that the conversation was "hypothetical reconstruction" of what could have been said. The channel originally claimed that the conversation between the pilots about to whether one of the plane´s engines was functioning correctly came from the black box.

So far the investigating judge has not received any reports into the Spanair accident from the Spanish National police although it is hoped that a report which includes witness statements will be handed over tomorrow by the Civil Guard. However, no reports have been received from the commission set up to investigate the accident or from other experts involved in the investigation yet.

Meanwhile the identification of the victims continues and according to the latest information available 86 bodies have been identified so far, a figure which the investigating judge considers to be satisfactory considering the conditions in which the bodies were recovered. This morning the Interior Minister said that the possibility of failing to identify some bodies could not be ruled out. He also said that there had been a level of tension in relations between the Government and Spanair on the afternoon of the accident - last Wednesday - but that the airline was now fully cooperating with the investigation. This morning a six-year old boy became the first survivor to be discharged from hospital. He was travelling on the plane with his sister who died in the tragedy.

Unemployment still rising in Spain

Unemployment rate going up in Spanish Mediterranean Provinces

Sustained by the construction sector, the growth in tourism and agriculture, the economy of the province of Murcia has gone from strength to strength over the last decade with an average annual growth estimated to be around 3.9% since 2000.

However, the current situation appears quite different. Over the last year alone the number of registered unemployed has risen from 45,158 to 68,632 which is a rise of 52%. The growth of unemployment in Murcia is mirrored in other Spanish Mediterranean provinces – unemployment is estimated to have risen by 36.8% in the Comunidad Valenciana alone and by 36.1% in the Balearic Islands.

In these coastal areas the crisis in the Spanish construction sector is particularly noticeable. The construction sector accounts for up to 67% of all employment in these areas. The number of unemployed construction workers has almost doubled in the last 12 months. In other areas such as Malaga, Almeria or Cadiz where employment is closely linked to the construction sector it has risen by a staggering 80%.

In the Canary Islands where unemployment in the construction sector has also doubled over the last year the increase in the number of registered unemployed between June and July this year was mainly due to unemployed construction workers. In the Comunidad Valenciana and Castilla-La Mancha more than two thirds of all newly registered unemployed are workers from the construction sector.

Overall out of all the 36,492 people who became unemployed in July this year 20,231 were from the construction sector. Although the numbers of unemployed construction workers normally increases over the summer months the numbers registering as unemployed this year is far more notable than other years and is seen to be another indicator of the crisis in the Spanish construction sector.

Immigrants are also being affected by lack of work and the number of unemployed foreign construction workers has more than doubled over the last 12 months with 41,437 more unemployed.

Another significant indicator of difficult times ahead for the economy is the situation in Aragon which was the most dynamic region in Spain with a 4.5% growth of in its GDP last year. However, following the completion of work on the Zaragoza Expo unemployment here has risen by 5% over the last month and by 29% since this time last year according to figures provided by the Spanish Ministry of Work and Immigration

Transparent town halls in Spain

The town hall of Bilbao is the most transparent in Spain in terms of its dealings with the public, the contracting services and its finances according to a study on the transparency of town halls (ITA) by an international organization called International Transparency. This organization used 80 indicators to analyze the 100 largest town halls in Spain. In general, Spanish town halls failed to meet the standards set by International Transparency and Orihuela was found to be the least transparent.

The results of the study were presented in a press conference by the president of International Transparency Jesús Lizcano. The patron of the Ortega and Gasset Foundation, Jesús Sánchez Lambás, and the secretary of the foundation, Antonio Garrigues Walker, also participated in the press conference along with Manuel Villoria a professor at the University of Rey Juan Carlos. It was emphasized that the best way to combat municipal corruption was to promote transparency.

Lizcano stressed that it was very important to improve transparency in the area of urban planning and public works which account for 50% of the budgets of the majority of Spain´s town halls.

The study was carried out using a questionnaire sent to the town halls included in the study . Overall they were given 69.6 points out of 100 for transparency in information with regards to municipal structures followed by 69 points awarded for dealings with the public. Transparency in urban planning and public works was only awarded 48.4%.

However, the results for financial transparency got the least points with just 29.1 points awarded overall followed by transparency in the contracting of services with 37.3 points. Bilbao, was found to be the best town hall with 90.6 points followed by Gijón (82.5), Cartagena (81.9), Barcelona (81.3) and Vigo (80.0). In contrast, the least transparent town halls were found to be Orihuela which was awarded just 12.5 points, Torrevieja (15.0), El Ejido (16.3), Huesca (17.5) and Dos Hermanas (18.8).

Asturias was found to be the best region with 74.6 points overall followed by the Basque Country and Murcia which both received 63.5 points. La Rioja and Navarra received 62.5 points The townhalls of Extremadura was only awarded 22.5% overall followed by Cantabria 34.4% and Aragon with 34.6%. International Transparency was set up in 1993 and is the only non governmental organization dedicated to combating corruption. It carries out annual studies of town halls in various countries.

Second language in Spain

Almost 50% of Spaniards only speak Spanish

A recent survey of 2489 people over the age of 18 by la Fundación de las Cajas de Ahorros (FUNCAS) has revealed that 49.7% of Spaniards have no knowledge of any other language other than Spanish. The survey shows that 67% of people from Castilla- La Mancha, 64.4% Andalucians and 63.7% of people from Cantabria only speak Spanish. In contrast just 23.7% of Catalans speak only one language followed by 24.6% of people from the Balearic Islands.

The study found that 42.3% of people from Madrid and 47.4% of people from Galicia only speak Spanish. People from Valencia (51.1%), Navarra (51.4%),the Canary Islands (54.2%), the Basque Country (55.6%), Aragon (55.7%), Castilla-Leon (56.3%), Murcia (57.7%), la Rioja (57.9%) and Extremadura (60.6%) were all found to be above the average for people who had no knowledge of foreign languages. The worst example was Asturias where 61.2% of people only spoke Spanish.

Income per capita and the coexistence of two official languages was found to influence knowledge of other languages something which was reflected in the cases of Castilla-La Mancha, Andalucía and Extremadura all of which have the lowest income per capita. The study also showed that the education system has not been able to overcome barriers or is ineffective when it comes to teaching foreign languages.

As far as ages are concerned 42% of those questioned between the ages of 18 and 34 (the youngest group included in the study) had some knowledge of English. However, only 5% of those over the age of 25 said that they had an advanced level of English. Out of people over the age of 54 included in the study 55% admitted to having no interest in learning a foreign language and only 5% of those questioned between the ages of 55 and 64 years old knew English and 7% French.

Despite these results the survey found that 94% of Spaniards think that knowledge of foreign languages is a necessity in an increasingly globalized world.