Parking problems keep shoppers away from Benidorm, Costa Blanca

SALES this Christmas have fallen by 30 per cent, Benidorm’s independent shopkeepers’ association Aico claimed.
“We have particularly missed customers from other Marina Baja towns,” Aico president Raul Parra said.
Many were discouraged by the difficulty of finding somewhere to park, he added, while the public car parks were “ruinous.” Charges were too high, Parra claimed who questioned why summer rates were still charged in the winter.
“Prices are abusive, which is why the car parks are only half-full,” he added. Pedestrians using the town centre’s streets also reduced the number of available parking spaces, the Aico president said.
Ongoing work in the Avenida del Mediterraneo contributed to traffic holdups, made it harder to reach the town centre and again reduced parking spaces. Parra pointed out that Mobility department’s deterrent parking areas on the outskirts of Benidorm were better suited to tourists leaving cars for several days.
“They’re not practical for visitors from neighbouring towns who come here to shop, have a meal or stroll through the streets,” he argued