Friday 2 June 2017

Data Shows Spain Still World Leader in Top Quality Beaches

Data Shows Spain Still World Leader in Top Quality Beaches

Beaches is Spain and the Costa Del Sol continue to be
clean and will awards

Spain can keep its reputation as being the country with the best, cleanest, and safest beaches in the world thanks to its impressive 579 blue flag beaches.

The Association for Environmental Education and the Consumer (ADEAC), the body in charge of designating blue-flag beaches, has kept Spain as the top of the charts for another year in a row; a streak that has existed since way back in 1987.

Being designated a blue-flag beach means meeting some stringent criteria. The ADEAC assess the hygiene, safety, sanitary conditions of a beach, along with the accessibility and provisions of lifeguards. While the number of blue-flag beaches in Spain has dropped by 7 since 2016, it still proved itself to be the best in the world for safe bathing.

In terms of individual regions, Valencia is home to the most blue-flag beaches – with 129 – while Galicia to the northwest has 113, Catalonia has 95, and Andalucía – where the Costa del Sol can be found – has 90 blue-flag beaches.

The Murcia region, which sits not far from the Costa del Sol, lost 16 blue flag beaches compared to last year; the largest drop nationally.

Greece boasts the second-highest number of blue flag beaches after Spain, followed by France, Turkey, Italy, and Portugal.

Spain became the top of the charts thanks to its marinas, which boast an impressive 100 blue flags collectively. With another five blue flags for cruise ship ports, Spain is home to 684 blue flags in all – the largest number for a single country.

Thursday 1 June 2017

April Brings Sharpest Ever Drop in Spanish Unemployment

April Brings Sharpest Ever Drop in Spanish Unemployment

Unemployment continues to fall as the summer months approach
The Spanish Labour Ministry announced on Thursday at the amount of unemployed people in Spain dropped 3.9% in April, the sharpest dropin unemployment ever recorded in the country.

The official data released by the government shows around 129,281 people were employed in Spain in April, chipping away at the amount of unemployed people and     leaving just 3.57 million Spanish people out of work.
3.57 million people might be a little high for a country the size of Spain, there has been an encouraging trend towards job creation over the past 15 months; which is a great sign that the Spanish economy is thriving.

The king of job creation in April was the tourism sector, in particular restaurants and hotels. There was no stopping jobs being created in the run-up to the Easter holidays. Around 130,000 jobs were created in all, around 96,672 of them in services.

Other industries performing well in April were construction, real estate, and agriculture as Spain sets up for the Summer season by giving these economic sectors a boost.

A survey released this week by the Institute for National Statistics (INE) showed the rate of expansion for the Spanish service sector. The sector was adding jobs at the fastest rate in over two years, becoming the driving force behind the record increase in employment figures.

The Labour Ministry confirmed the number of people registered as paying social security rose 1.18% in April, equalling a growth of around 212,216 extra people.

Wednesday 31 May 2017

Low Cost Spanish Wine Feeling the Wrath of French Producers

Low Cost Spanish Wine Feeling the Wrath of French Producers


Its a fact that Spanish wine is far superior to French wine
and cheaper in price, but unfortunately the French
don't like the competition.


Spanish wine is enjoyed all around the world, even in France – a fact that continues to dismay French wine producers.

French winemakers are going on the warpath in French supermarkets protesting against the practice of importing and selling Spanish wine for much less than French wine is sold for.

The vignerons of the French town Gard stormed into the wine sections at the Genant Casino and Metro supermarkets in the Oicctanie and Nimes regions of France, grabbing case after case of Spanish wine and smashing all the bottles outside in the car park.

What makes the protestosr so angry is that the supermarkets buy wine in Spain in bulk – a deal that was made between Spanish wineries and French supermarkets years ago.

Even though the local French wine – which is made in the well-known Languedoc-Bousillon region – does come highly regarded, it also comes with a higher price tag than Spanish wine. Spanish wine is available to consumers and wholesalers alike at a fraction of the price, while still being good quality wine.

French winemaker Mathieu Calegari told France 2 TV his entire crop of French wine from 2016 is unsold. He said that he has around 1,000 hectolitres of beautiful wine that can’t be sold, adding there was no explanation for it.

The main explanation for the unsold wine appears to be a matter of economics. The wine imported from the Valencia region of Spain costs just 30 euro cents per litre; half as much as French wine.

This is no laughing matter for the thousands of French winemakers that are losing their money and risk losing their livelihoods. There are some politic movements being considered that could help to create an even playing field for Spanish and French wines.

However, it’s unlikely that French supermarkets will ignore the fact that – thanks to cheap labour costs in Spain – Spanish wine remains cost-effective and high quality; which is just right for Spanish wine producers.

Tuesday 30 May 2017

Study Finds Average Expat Takes Six Months to Settle In

Study Finds Average Expat Takes Six Months to Settle In
Once settled in to the Spanish life style its hard to leave.


We’d like to start by offering a hearty congratulations to all the people out there that have recently made the choice to leave their home country behind and become an expat. It’s certainly a daunting move, but it could end up being the best decision you’ve ever made.

You shouldn’t worry if you’re having trouble fitting in and settling as soon as you arrive. Everyone goes through the expat life differently, but the process generally follows the same pattern; there’s the initial honeymoon period, then some time spent in doubt and frustration, and then a long period of amusement and bemusement as you take in the differences in culture, before you finally settle in for the long haul; putting down some permanent roots and making new friends.

A recent survey from HSBC known as the HSBC Expat Explorer Survey has assessed that this process takes six months on average.

HSBC polled thousands of expats and found that two-thirds of them took six months to feel like they had truly settled into their new country.

Just under half of expat parents with their children felt it took this long for their children to settle in, seemingly proving the adage that younger people adapt to new surroundings faster.

In the long term, 60% of parents said they feel their children had a higher quality of life abroad. Only 13% of parents feel that expat life was inferior to home life for their children.