Strikes In Spain Hit Holiday Resorts

With a strike in Spain over rising fuel costs hitting hotels and supermarkets in popular holiday resorts in June, the Spanish holiday industry could be releived that the British often book their holidays months in advance.

Before the days of the internet, as soon as Christmas Day was over the advertising campaigns for summer holidays would appear on British television.

Millions would book their holidays in January, and many would pay weekly or monthly to their local travel agent so by the time it came to take their summer holiday, it had been paid off and it was just spending money to take care of.

Old habits die hard it seems, as despite late deals and instant access on the internet to hundreds of thousands of holidays, nearly half of the British population still book their holiday in the first two months of the year.

'It's a habit the country got into over a couple of decades', one UK based group of travel sites try to explain, 'And it continues today despite the fact that the cost of an average holiday compared to salaries is way down on when the internet wasn't around to the mass market.'

How long the January and February frenzy continues is anyone's guess, but as even more of the population gets online and time online increases, the holiday bookings Brits make should become more spread out over the year, and with late deals often available the booking peak might shift from early in the year to the early May and June summer months.

Interesting statistics have been released by one of the UK's leading holiday companies for the bookings they took in the first weeks of 2008, and it suggests the British love affair with Spain shows no sign of slowing down.

Top searched destination was the Spanish island of Majorca. Majorca is one of the longest established tourist destinations in the world, and has had a tourist board for over a hundred years. Their tourist board has ensured the island has remained a British favourite for generations.

Today, Majorca receives more than six million visitors annually, yet ninety five percent of her tourists concentrate in only five percent of its territory. Less developed areas of this elegant island are ripe for new development and prime property commands a great premium. Majorca is now also successfully selling holidays away from the coast in traditional areas not known for tourism.

Ibiza, well known in Europe for a younger tourists and night clubs which feature visiting and resident British DJ's, is a neighbouring island of Majorca and also makes the top five most booked holiday destinations in the early weeks of 2008.

The Spanish Canary Islands also feature among the most booked holiday destinations, with Tenerife and Gran Canaria being the second and third most popular areas.

Another Canary Island, Lanzarote, was the fourth most searched holiday destination, but Lanzarote is a popular winter getaway and as well as summer bookings would have benifitted from Britons looking for a winter holiday.

Lanzarote maintains relatively constant temperatures and sees low annual rainfall. Few days are lost to weather-related problems due to this environment, which offers the premium atmosphere for technical improvements and beneficial training. In addition to these benefits, the winds are good and steady in the Canary Islands due to the north-east trade winds, which also bring cooler air in the summers to Lanzarote.

If bookings continue in similar patterns throughout the year, Spain and her islands will be again the destination of choice for the British.