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A lack of hire cars in key destinations in Spain has meant a rise in cost for the average holiday maker according to a recent article in the Guardian. Destinations such as Malaga, Alicante and Murcia have all been reported as problem areas.

Last Easter supply ran out in some of these locations and the same thing appears to be happening again now in August according to the article. Fleet sizes are smaller than last year due to the current recession which has meant that many firms have underestimated demand this summer. A collapse in the second market has also been very damaging for car hire companies.

Visitors from the UK to Spain were down eighteen percent last winter but July and August are proving to be as busy as ever. It seems that Spain is the only country being affected by car hire shortages at the moment with no such problems being reported in Italy or France.

Here at Murcia Airport Car Hire we are able to source rental cars from a huge number of suppliers so don’t give up hope and search for a quote today. We are still adding new cars daily as they become available.

According to the RAC over thirty five percent of British holidaymakers have no idea what they should do if involved in an accident while almost as many knew the emergency number for the country they were visiting.

A recent report showed that 10 percent of UK drivers had a road accident while driving in Europe. Twelve percent experienced break downs. People were also warned of the cost of unleaded petrol in popular holiday spots such as France and Italy with many not realizing that the fuel savings available are for diesel cars. If you hire a car in Murcia that runs on diesel you can expect to make a twenty fiver percent saving on fuel costs when compared with the UK.

A major change for many drivers is having to drive on the other side of the road. Roundabouts can be tricky and require careful driving until used to. There can also be confusion reading road signs and place names especially as British people may only be familiar with the English language place names.

The AA offer advice when driving in other countries with a list of important items to remember available to view. Be sure to always carry your driving license and passport at all times.

According to a recent survey hotel prices in Europe have dropped by up to seven percent this summer. The price comparison site Trivago carried out the survey which involved data from fifty popular European locations.

The results showed that thirty eight of the locations had seen a drop in hotel rates or had seen no change. Madrid in Spain showed the biggest decrease recording a thirty one percent drop in average rates. Some other cities which also offered cheaper rates compared to last year were Lisbon, Amsterdam, Bologna and Oslo.

This news certainly plays into the hands of bargain hunters who leave it late to book accommodation. Hotels will be looking to fill rooms and may offer cheaper rates to do so. An improving sterling rate may also help you to go easy on the wallet.

Elsewhere in Spain Valencia also showed a large drop in hotel prices at twenty three percent. Geneva was the major mover in the opposite direction showing a ten percent increase in prices.

No surprises really from Skyscanner’s survey this week which shows Spain still easily out in front as the favored holiday destination of UK travelers. Old favourites such as France and Italy followed Spain as well as relative newcomer Turkey.

The poll did not just quiz the Brits though with the UK proving a popular holiday destination for Spanish, Polish and American holidaymakers. Due to the weak pound Britain has seen extra tourist visits this year. This result has been borne out by the survey which shows Britain topping the list for the three countries mentioned above.

Speaking on behalf of Skyscanner, Barry Smith said that the results of the survey show that British people are still very happy with Spain and have not been put off by the less than favorable currency rate.

Germans are also flocking to Spain this summer. Portugal and Cyprus are two destinations which do not feature in the top ten for Germans but do so for Brits.

The most popular spots for Spanish travelers after the UK are Italy and the US while Spain and Italy came 2nd and 3rd for Polish tourists. It’s a 123 of the UK, Spain and Italy for US visitors.

According to a recent article in the Telegraph it is currently an excellent time in which to bag a holiday bargain. It seems that many families have opted to holiday at home this summer meaning there are more flights and accommodation available than usual at this time of year.

If you are on a flexible schedule then you could do really well financially this year when it comes to your summer holiday.

Agencies such as Thomas Cook have been advertising cut price offers recently. Speaking on behalf of Travelsupermarket Bob Atkinson stated that there are currently some superb deals available for long haul and short haul trips. He recommended midweek travel and also pointed to the recent improvements in the sterling rate though it is still worse than last summer.

A spokesperson for Thomas Cook confirmed that Spain is easily still the most popular destination this year with Greece also proving popular.

The normal surge of early bookings has not happened this summer. A recent report by air traffic company OAG has shown that over one and a half million less people travelled by air from the UK this April compared to the previous year.

There has been some good news for British tourists over the last few weeks with Sterling showing some improvement in currency rates. Though destinations like Murcia offer great value for money some travelers have been put off by the drop in value against the euro in recent times.

Today’s rate shows the pound trading at 1.18 euro. Towards the end of last year sterling reached an all time low against the euro and the dollar. The recovery is coming at a perfect time for those planning a trip away to Europe or the US.

Experts in the field now hope that the worst is over and that Sterling will continue to strengthen. Even taking into account recent improvements the pound is still around 8c worse off compared to the euro than it was this time last year.

If you are visiting Spain this year then take into account how much you will be paying for food, accommodation, car hire etc. Even with a lower currency rate than last there is still excellent value to be had on a holiday in Spain or other destinations in Europe.

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.

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.