Roger Munns

Seven day and two week holidays are traditions that fewer people are able to enjoy in today's fast moving world where work and careers are more important than ever. Private villa owners and specialist companies are now able to offer three and four day breaks.

There was a lot of political unrest in 2011 in what became known as The Arab Spring, with some of the disturbances in or close to popular tourist areas. The result is a shift away from potential troubled areas, and the map of Spain is being looked at again by many making holiday plans for 2012.

A Spanish tourist official recently derided the low cost airlines for flying in tourists who spend little money and do little for the local economy. He later retracted his comments - but was he right to think that budget airlines equates to budget tourists?

Another property survey, and again it shows Monaco real estate as the most expensive in Europe. What is likely to happen to prices in the tax haven in the next year or two?

Andorra is the tax haven of choice for many European business people, and with taxes rising so is the demand for property. But when the current residency allocation runs out there could be quite a gap before new ones are issued.

The number of British tourists holidaying in Menorca has seen a decline in recent years, and the island wants to see them return, along with new visitors. Rather than wait, Menorca decided to take the island to Britain, and it could prove to be good effective advertising money spent.

One of Europe's favourite holiday islands, Majorca has great beaches, first class hotels, and low cost flights to get there. If that's not enough British tourists have just voted Spain as their safest destination too.

It's not just the bride at a royal wedding the world's media are watching, it's what she's wearing and which house of fashion she's chosen. For the Monaco royal wedding in July Princess to be Charlene has chosen an Armani wedding dress.

An early and prolonged spell of cold and snow sent many Britons to their computers to see where they could book a holiday in the sun. And one of their top choices has been the Mediterranean island of Malta.

Moving to a tax friendly country makes good financial sense for many people in business - or who have sold their business. Andorra is making gaining residency easier for applicants compared to some other jurisdictions.