New European Cruise Routes Announced Including Canary Islands

The Canary Islands and Norway are to benefit from new routes announced by Fred Olsen Cruises for 2010. The new cruises will take passengers to the Cosmopolitan cities of Europe across diverse sea and landscapes in relaxed style. Gran Canaria, is included in the ‘Canaries Collection’ starting from the 5th of October 2010, leaving from Dover to Madeira, La Palma, Tenerife, Las Palmas Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Portugal, and returning to Dover. As an autumn adventure the cruise takes advantage of the sub-tropical temperatures the Canary Islands are famous for this time of year. If last October is anything to go by passengers should be in for a real treat as temperatures then were more akin to the summer months. In fact many of the islands visitors and second home property owners prefer to spend the winter months in Gran Canaria. The ship called ‘Braemar’ has been refitted and lengthened and was voted ‘The Best Refurbished Ship’ in Cruise Critic’s Editor Pick Awards 2009.

Further cruises travel to Norway and the Iberian Peninsular during the summer months taking advantage of the more traditional summer weather in Northern Europe. The ‘Norweigen Celebration’ starts on 15th of May, ‘Secrets of Spain’ begins 30th of July and the ‘Viking Voyager’ cruise starts 8th of August.

It is anticipated the additional exposure to the Canaries will bring new awarenes to Gran Canaria and boost its tourism industry which has recently also been aided by new flights. For more information on the Island, transportation, accommodation and properties for sale visit www.goldacre-estates.com or call (0034)928 565613.

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Jet2 Has Announced New Route to Gran Canaria From Manchester

Jet2.com has announced three new routes for the summer of 2010 from Manchester airport to Gran Canaria, Venice and Kos.

The announcement came as Ryanair dislcosed plans to cut routes from the airport. Kos and Venice are new scheduled services not previously served by Manchester.

Jet2.com has also increased its frequency of its summer 2010 services to Lanzarote, Dalaman, Sharm el Sheikh and Tel Aviv. It will base a 737 aircraft at the airport, taking the total number of Jet2.com aircraft at Manchester to seven.

Destinations and starting fares for summer 2010 now on sale from Manchester include:

• Venice from £29.99 one way including taxes departing from 3 March 2010

• Kos from £69.99 one way including taxes departing from 26 May 2010

• Gran Canaria from £59.99 departing from 1 May 2010

• Budapest from £29.99 departing from 28 March 2010

• Rome from £29.99 departing from 28 March 2010

• Nice from £29.99 departing from 13 May 2010

• Pisa from £29.99 departing from 27 May 2010

Source Travelmole By Bev Fearis

Spain Announces Airport Tax Freeze For 2010

Airport taxes will be frozen from 2010 the Spanish Government has announced. Spain's minister for public works José Blanco has said the move was devised to help stimulate the economy.

In a further initiative, the minister said discounts, which currently apply to travellers to the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands and Melilla, will be increased to 30 per cent. Francisco Alaya opposition member of the People's Party insisted that the government's initiative was too late and should have been introduced this year. Mr Alaya also noted it is discriminatory to apply the taxes just to selected islands.

The Canary Islands are a favorite destination for expatriates and holidaymakers alike and this will greatly help the tourist industry. The news comes after several airlines annouced increased flights to the Canaries.

Gran Canaria, Canary Islands Well Established As Medical Tourist Destaination

Gran Canaria is fast establishing itself as one of Europe's leading wellness and medical tourism destinations. The Canaries are renown for its temperate all year climate which is ideal for aiding recovery and recouperation.

The Gran Canaria Spa, Wellness and Health Association have brought together a host of medical and recouperation facilities to be able to put together a holiday medical package to suit indivdual needs. Every patient is supported and clearly guided through every stage of their treatment and cared for with the utmost attention to detail.

Some of the treatments that are on offer include, plastic surgery, breast augmentation, liposuction and corrective eye surgery.

For further information on the Gran Canaria Spa, Wellness & Health Association, to view the hotels and medical facilities and to book a medical tourism holiday in Gran Canaria visit grancanariawellness.com.

Source: easier.com and Gran Canaria Wellness

International Business Opportunities In The Canaries, Gran Canaria

International Business Opportunity with leading real estate company in the Canary Islands, Gran Canaria.

Are you looking for a business opportunity in the Canary Islands?
Are you looking for a lifestyle change with High Rewards?
Do you want to run your own business and be supported by one of the most experienced Real Estate Companies in the Canary Islands?

GoldAcre Estates is looking for partners to fuel our expansion program in the Canary Islands

Our Partnership program is looking to offer exciting opportunities to selected individuals that want to run their own business in the Canary Islands with ongoing existing business available for franchise.

Full Training and Ongoing Support provided.

Take the initiative today and invest in your career and lifestyle for a future in the sun!

For further details e-mail nicolast@goldacre-estates.com

International Business Oppotunities in the Canaries, Gran Canaria.

International Business Opportunity with leading real estate company in the Canary Islands, Gran Canaria.

Are you looking for a business opportunity in the Canary Islands?
Are you looking for a lifestyle change with High Rewards?
Do you want to run your own business and be supported by one of the most experienced Real Estate Companies in the Canary Islands?

GoldAcre Estates is looking for partners to fuel our expansion program in the Canary Islands

Our Partnership program is looking to offer exciting opportunities to selected individuals that want to run their own business in the Canary Islands with ongoing existing business available for franchise.

Low Initial start up costs,

Full Training and Ongoing Support provided.

Take the initiative today and invest in your career and lifestyle for a future in the sun!

For further details e-mail nicolast@goldacre-estates.com

Cost Of New Housing Falls In Spain But The Canary Islands Is Less Affected

Canary Islands Real Estate, Fuerteventura Tenerife, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria property better than mainland Spain.

The cost of new housing fell 2% in the first quarter of the year compared with the same period in 2008, the first annual decrease since the property market bubble started to deflate in mid-2007.

According to data published today by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the price of housing as a whole fell by 7.6% between January and March, the biggest decrease since prices started to fall in the second quarter of 2008. The main reason for the fall is still the slump in prices in the second-hand-property market, brought on by owners selling just to clear bank mortgage commitments, but it is the first time that new housing in Spain has also seen a decrease.

House prices fell in all the autonomous communities in the first quarter, with the biggest drops being registered in Catalunya (13.7%), Comunidad de Madrid (11.2%), Basque Country(10.8%), Navarra (10.1%), Aragón (9.7%), Balearic Islands (8.1%) and La Rioja (8%).Below national average drops were registered in Cantabria (7.2%), Comunidad Valenciana (5.2%), Canary Islands (4.3%), Andalucía (3.9%), Castilla and León (3.3%), Castilla-La Mancha (2.5%), Extremadura (2.2%), Asturias (1.8%), Murcia (1.6%) and Galicia (0.5%).

For more information: Call 0034 928 535044 or visit www.goldacre-estates.com

Maiden Voyage Of Cunards Queen Elizabeth to include the Canary Islands

Like the regal Queen Elizabeth I, Cunard has begun construction on what promises to be the premier cruising vessel on the high seas. She is scheduled for her maiden voyage in October of 2010, joining the Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria as the most famous ocean liners in the world.
Queen Elizabeth will feature the unique Cunard traditions, together with all the modern day luxuries Cunard’s guests have come to expect. In addition, some exciting new features will give the vessel her own sense of style and personality.
Named after the first Queen Elizabeth, one of Cunard’s greatest ships, the new Queen Elizabeth will reflect her predecessor in interior grandeur, décor and style. Art Deco features will pay homage to the original Queen Elizabeth and will allow the new ship to reflect an elegant era of travel. The extraordinary new vessel features 12 decks and carries more than 2,000 passengers.
In addition to the extensive Cunard onboard entertainment program, Queen Elizabeth will offer some unique strands such as country house parties at sea, evening piano sing-alongs and period dancing, from traditional ballroom to the jitterbug and the jive, all within the setting of this 21st-century ship. The ship will also reflect this great liner through artwork, memorabilia and its very own “Yacht Club.”

Queen Elizabeth will depart on her Maiden Voyage on 12 October 2010—a voyage which sold out in a record-breaking 29 minutes in April 2009. This 13-night celebration will leave from Cunard’s home port of Southampton and will call at Vigo (for Santiago de Compostela), Lisbon, Seville (Cadiz), Gran Canaria (Las Palmas), Tenerife (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, an overnight call), La Palma (Santa Cruz de La Palma) and Madeira (Funchal).
Her Maiden Season will run from October 2010 to January 2011 and include voyages to the Western and Central Mediterranean and the Caribbean. Fares start from just $1,195 per person for the five-night 26 November 2010 Gallic Debut voyage with ports of call at Amsterdam, Zeebrugge and Le Havre; while the 13-night Iberian Discovery voyage departing 1 December 2010 features fares from $2,395 per person, with ports of call at Vigo, Lisbon, Seville, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Palma and Madeira.
For more information and to book a voyage aboard the new Queen Elizabeth, call toll-free 1-800-7-CUNARD or visit www.cunard.com.

Loans Available to Improve Quality of Tourism

Spanish central government have made available 400 Million Euros in low interest loans to touristic businesses under the ‘Plan Renove de Infraestructuras Turisticas’. Local Canarian enterprises are being encouraged by the Gran Canarian Tourism Minister Roberto Moreno to apply for the loans which are set at a low 1.5% interest. The Minister is also encouraging local government to ‘make realistic initiatives that are helpful in directing those involved in the daunting task of renewing Gran Canaria and the Canary Islands as a touristic destination of the twent first century and to contribute to modernising the sector and substantially improving the quality of what we offer and sell to our customers’

Gran Canaria Top Destination in Spain

Canary Islands are still one of the top destinations in Spain according to a poll of European tourists despite a general prediction that tourism flows will slow across the board. The Islands performance bucks the trend of other destinations that have been more susceptible especially as the winter season is now here.

Cold weather in Europe has been a major factor for visitors to target the Canaries where shorts and T shirts are the fashion all year.
The same poll highlights Gran Canarias largest Municipality San Bartolome de Tirajana in which the Parque Natural de Pilancones is a special eco-reserve, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors a year. The importance of this park along with the varied terrain found in Gran Canaria has earned this island the designation of World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.

Local businesses are well aware the Islands unique qualities give it a strong advantage over other more Northerly European destinations, however improvements are always being made such as the motorway extension into Mogan Valley as well as maintaining and cleaning beaches and public areas. The quality and friendliness of local businesses is often mentioned – all good reasons for 2009 to be a strong year.

Canary Islands More Popular Than Balearics

Property hunters in Spain choose the Canary as opposed to the Balearics due to lower prices and a year-round mild climate.
A survey of Spanish property agents has revealed the Canary Islands, situated 60 miles off the coast of Morocco are more popular with those looking for property in Spain than the Balearics, in the Mediterranean Sea. The Canary Islands (comprising of Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Palma) may be a better option for a lot of people because of the fact that that average property prices were substantially lower on the Canary Islands compared to the Balearics, €207,000 and €451,000 respectively at the end of 2007.Tenerife, received 46 per cent of all enquiries, and appeals to northern Europeans during summer and winter months due to its mild, sunny, year-round climate. And saw an increase in property prices of around 7.5 per cent.
In second place, commanding just over a quarter (25.6%) of enquires was Fuerteventura, the second largest and closest island to the African mainland. Receiving just over 4.6 million passengers in 2007, Fuerteventura is a quieter island however with Ryanair now starting to fly direct from most UK regional airports, owning a second property here remains affordable and increasingly more accessible.
The Balearics although closer to the UK and Ireland does not benefit from the potential of a 52 week summer climate and tourist season. This makes the Canaries a far better prospect for those wanting to permanently move abroad or investors looking for an extended season in which to rent their property.

Announcement from the British Club in Las Palmas. Freemasonry is relatively new to the Canary Islands, but is growing steadily.

“The Provincial Grand Lodge of the Canary Islands

The Provincial Grand Masonic Lodge of the Canary Islands is very pleased to invite all English speaking Freemasons, or English speaking men wishing to become Freemasons, who are residents of Gran Canaria, to become part of a new Lodge being constituted on this island.”

If you are a Freemason or wish to become one, and have a sincere interest in this matter, please contact info@goldacre-estates.com for full details.

The Canary Islands Are Tops For Winter

Holidaymakers looking for package holidays to Spain are opting for the Canaries – rental property owners, take note!

No matter what an estate agent tells you, any expat who lives in Spain will tell you it's not sun, sun, sun on the mainland all winter, and the further inland you get from the Mediterranean coast, the greater the likelihood of it being a bit chilly. The only genuine year-round sunshine in Spain is to be found in the Canaries, and holidaymakers are clearly aware of this fact as some new statistics from Travelsupermarket.com shows that in the week starting 22 October 2007, four out of the top five searches for package holidays to Spain were looking for Canary Island breaks. Gran Canaria was most popular, followed by Tenerife. Mainland Spain makes a showing at number three with searches for the Costa Blanca, but then Lanzarote and Fuerteventura rounded out the top five.These figures should be of interest to anyone thinking of buying a rental property in Spain. While mainland Spain is by far the most popular location for holidaymakers during the summer months and you can earn a good income during peak season, if you're looking for year-round rentals the Canaries are definitely worth considering. As well as holidaymakers going for a week or two, you'll also be able to cater to elderly people keen to escape the British climate for a couple of months.