Costa heating up for a promising summer

With bookings on the up, hotels on the Costa Blanca have started out on what they hope will be the season that finally ends the recession.
Families are finally starting to feel brave enough to start booking holidays, and this shows, South Alicante Hotel Association (Alcsur) President Sofia Madrid has reported.
Although rooms are still available, advance bookings have already filled up half the space available for the first part of July and last-minute bookings are hoped to help reach occupancy rates of about 90 per cent by the end of the month.
Bookings for August are also at about 50 per cent, leading hoteliers to say it looks like things are looking up at last and many reported having had to call in seasonal staff earlier than expected to cover the extra work.
Madrid stressed the need for more promotion of the Orihuela area to really get it on the tourism map and allow hotels and accommodation to remain open all year round.
“It’s a waste for them to close in the winter when many international visitors would probably like to come here to escape the cold,” she said.
Sailing, sports, shopping and nature are all things which could attract visitors to the area all year round, Madrid explained.