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The airline bmibaby launched their Easter 2010 schedule yesterday 28th May.  Customers can now begin booking in order to grab the best deals. A new route between Manchester and Faro has also been announced with service dates between the 28th March and the 18th April. The service will operate on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.

Readers of our Murcia Airport car hire blog will be pleased to hear that Murcia is included in the Easter sale along with Bordeaux, Majorca, Knock, Geneva, Grenoble and several more locations.

Speaking on behalf of bmibaby MD Crawford Rix spoke of his delights at announcing Easter deals so early giving customers more time than ever to plan ahead. He also spoke of the increasing popularity of Faro and how he believes the new Manchester route will be a success.

Many experts are predicting a shortage of rental cars in prime locations in Europe this summer. Fleet sizes have been cut by several major car hire companies meaning that there may be less cars available during the height of the summer period.

Late last year many car hire firms made plans for the coming year but it seems that some may have underestimated car hire demands this summer. Many have already sent out mails to customers with the advice: book early.

The shortage is expected to have an adverse affect on road transport. Some breakdown assistance companies have started to ship second vehicles over. In these situations rentals cars would normally be used however there is no guarantee that one will be available when needed.

Murcia is always a popular summer location so if you have a holiday planned and expect you will need a car hire then start searching today. The best deals and best range of vehicles can be found by hiring in advance.

While all major European routes have seen a drop in numbers this year it appears that Spain has been hit harder than most with a reported airline traffic drop of between seventeen and nineteen percent.

The review of forty airports in Spain was conducted by AENA which showed April to have a drop of just fiver percent due to the Easter break. Valencia saw the biggest drop in traffic this year with almost a twenty five percent drop reported while Tenerife was the least affected reporting a five point six percent drop.

Irish airline Ryanair was the only airline to show an increase in passenger numbers. The report showed a sixteen percent increase in numbers passing rival airlines Air Europe and Spanair in the process. Ryanair is now the second busiest airline in Spain with bases at Alicante, Girona, Madrid and Reus. The airline has operated in Spain since 2002.

So with the bank holiday weekend now over (sob) we can reveal what the most popular getaways were this May bank holiday. According to the website Skyscanner locations in Europe proved most popular among the British.

Due to current exchange rates it was thought that people in the UK may not opt for Europe in such numbers this year however Spain came out easily on top as the most visited location. In fact there were four Spanish destinations in the top 10. Malaga, Alicante Barcelona made the top three while Majorca came in 7th.

Nice and Paris proved popular also finishing in ninth and eight positions as they did last May bank holiday. Faro made the top ten for the first time while Milan dropped out.

Recent data has seen countries outside of Europe such as Thailand and Turkey having a surge in popularity however it looks for the time being at least that Spain, France and Portugal will remain top of the May bank holiday lists.

A recent report has shown that up to fifty percent of beaches in the UK are not safe for swimming. The Marine Conservation Society carried out water testing throughout the UK.

Seven hundred and seventy seven beaches were tested with just three hundred and seventy reaching the required standard. This is a seventeen percent decrease on the previous year and represents the largest yearly drop since tests began taking place twenty two years ago.

With several recent surveys suggesting that many more Britons will holiday in the UK this year the news comes as quite a blow to the UK tourist industry. Expected sunshine and the weak pound were also pointed to as reasons to stay in the UK.

Holiday website last minute reported a twenty seven percent rise in domestic holidays among Britons this year.

A spokesman for the Marine Conservation Society Thomas Bell suggested that holidaymakers need to be careful choosing what beaches to visit this summer.

According to a recent report from the UK travel association ABA over one hundred thousand less Britons than the previous year will travel abroad this bank holiday weekend

However 1.8 million are still expected to get away for a few days especially due to half term breaks in schools. Once again Spain is the most popular destination among UK holiday makers with the Canary Islands proving particularly popular. This year sees a rise in the numbers travelling to Turkey and Egypt which have the added bonus of not using the Euro.

Despite much belt tightening all round many people are still opting for Florida this weekend due to some excellent sale prices currently being offered. Major cities such as Dublin, Paris, Rome and Amsterdam are also busy holiday spots at this time of year.

The majority of people will jet off from the south east of England with a total of 785,000 leaving from Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stansted while over 125,000 are expected to leave from Manchester

With the Bank holiday weekend fast approaching in the UK time is running out if you are planning a weekend getaway. Murcia makes for a fantastic break away from the stress of everyday life plus of course there is the added advantage of some much needed sunshine.

There are still some last minute deals to be snapped up if you are willing to look around. Our partner site Auto Europe still have some good value Murcia Airport car hire deals available for the weekend at the time of writing this. There are a large variety of rental cars sourced from the best Murcia car hire companies to choose from.

It is also worth checking around for cheap flights and accommodation. Price comparison sites are always a good option and a site such as Travel Supermarket is certainly worth a look.

So if you have just decided that you really need to get away this weekend, don’t despair as there are still some last minute bargains waiting to be snapped up.

I feel like we are writing a lot here recently at Murcia Airport Car Hire about the doom and gloom surrounding many areas of the travel industry so I thought id share this rather driving related story today to lighten the mood.

It seems that our friend in the USA have found a way of teaching their kids about the dangers associated with driving well in advance of the legal age by using the Mario Kart game on the Nintendo Wii.

At Vail Christian High School in Colorado students have been allowed to take part in the game under a “Distracted and Drowsy Driving Project” banner. The idea was formed in collaboration with local firemen and police officers.

Students are asked to play the game while talking on a mobile phone. A thirteen year old girl spoke of finding the task very distracting and difficult.

Hmmmm could work I guess. I’ve heard worse ideas.

The Spanish Government has taken action to help prevent decline in the countries tourism industry.  The Government has promised airlines who manage to increase numbers in the first half of the year tax incentives in the second half of the year as a reward.

The PM of Spain Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said the move was necessary to offer a helping hand to the countries tourism sector. Within the first six months of 2009 airlines must show an increase on numbers in the last six months of 2008 to qualify for the tax incentive. A tax cut of one hundred percent has been promised.

It is expected that airlines will then pass on the cuts to customers in an effort to boost business. Twenty million is expected to be spent by the Spanish Airport Authority on the project.

Not everyone has been in favour of the move with four airline groups issuing a statement saying the project was “confusing” and would not have a good impact on the industry.

Tourism in Spain employs over eleven percent of the population. Figure for the first quarter of 2009 show a drop of over sixteen percent on the previous year.

Jet2.com first came to the nation’s attention in February 2003 launching at Leeds Bradford Airport. Over the years the airline has become a major player in the budget airline market. The airline now offers over one hundred routes.

Jet2.com are now located at Belfast, Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh and more. Leeds Bradford Airport still has the most jet2 flights. As expected popular destinations include Faro, Malaga, Alicante etc however rather surprisingly the most popular destination for jet2 customers is Murcia Airport. The airline currently offers thirty three flights to Murcia from the UK per week.

In overall numbers Murcia Airport handles far less passengers than Alicante Airport which is located sixty kilometres away.  In 2008 there were 7.6 million more passengers in Alicante than Murcia.

Murcia offers much for the UK tourist with great value accommodation, food and Murcia car hire available. With money tight for many families this year it is still possible to enjoy a summer break in a location such as Murcia. There are also plenty of airlines offering cheap flights. As always shop around and find the best deals.