Spanish News Today Editors Roundup Weekly Bulletin Dec 15

FEATURED ARTICLES: "What you need to know if you’re going to Spain this Christmas" and "Big changes afoot at Murcia Corvera Airport"

Hiya!

Just to let you know, this is your penultimate Editor’s Roundup Weekly Bulletin of 2023. There will be one more next week, and then we’re taking a couple of weeks off over Christmas and New Year. So there won’t be a bulletin going out on either Friday December 29 or Friday January 5, but over that period we will still be reporting the news on our website and our social media pages, so be sure to keep an eye on them.

Meanwhile, in this week’s issue we’ve got a rundown of everything you need to know if you’re travelling to Spain to spend the Christmas holidays, with everything from the days you can expect shops and stuff to be shut to the recent announcement of more baggage handler strikes at airports.

There’s also plenty of news coming out of the airport in the Region of Murcia this week, which we’ll take you through, plus the proposed laws that could place restrictions on smoking in public – and private! – places in Spain.

Here we go…

No smoke without fire

Spain has big plans for tackling smoking over the next couple of decades but the crusade has taken a back-seat for the last three years or so with other matters occupying the government. Now, though, the new Minister for Health, Mónica García, has vowed to resurrect the dormant Comprehensive Plan for the Prevention and Control of Smoking 2021-2025 and completely reform the Anti-Tobacco Law.

Something which has completely dismayed bar and restaurant owners and about 50% of customers is her determination to prohibit smoking on outdoor terraces, a ban that was first introduced during the coronavirus pandemic but has since been phased out, largely at the request of the hospitality industry.

Stopping people from lighting up on terraces while enjoying a drink was bad for businesses, bar owners claimed, especially since Spain is a country of outdoor living.

But while smoking on patios is her main focus, Ms García doesn’t plan to stop there, and she’s already commissioned a report from the National Committee for the Prevention of Smoking (CNPT) to analyse the public areas which can most affectively be made smoke-free.

While it’s still unclear what the recommendations will be, anti-tobacco groups like Nofumadores have suggested that cigarettes and vapes should be banned in sports venues, university campuses, bus stops and train platforms.

It also suggests banning smoking within 10 metres of schools, hospitals and the entrances to shopping centres, as well as restrictions on lighting up on beaches and other natural spaces where people gather.

Controversially, the proposal now being studied by Spain also recommends a blanket ban on tobacco use in private vehicles, a move that was tabled a few years ago but which was met with fierce opposition from human rights groups.

While the Ministry is studying all the options, Nofumadores is busy at work gathering support, and the association has already collected almost 363,000 signatures through Change.org for smoke-free beaches and nearly 188,000 signatures calling for smoke-free terraces.

Applauding the Spanish government for moving forward in the fight against tobacco but afraid the Ministry isn’t going quite far enough, group president Raquel Fernández Megina has urged Ms García to be “brave and bold” and has now called on her to ban the sale of cigarettes and vapes to those born after 2009.

The group has also called for an immediate ban on single-use vapes, again following the example of France and the United Kingdom, due to public health and environmental reasons, especially as they are largely aimed at children and adolescents.

For now, while the Ministry of Health looks poised to prohibit smoking on bar terraces in the near future, it remains to be seen which of the stricter measures, if any, will be adopted in Spain.

‘Cor’ Blimey!

The November passenger stats for Spanish airports are out, and along with them the overall numbers for the first 11 months of this year, and suffice it to say that the performance of the Region of Murcia International Airport, about which we have written many a time on these pages, is less than shining.

Between January and November 2023, Corvera airport in Murcia had 848,816 passengers passing through its terminal, and there was a 0.4% increase in the total number of flights in comparison with 2022.

However, when you take the passenger numbers for November alone, they are 11.8% lower than they were in November 2022 and still 41% below those recorded in the same month of 2019, the year before the Covid-19 pandemic forced everything to close down.

In contrast, most other Spanish airports in the Aena network, the management company for public airports, have had a great 2023. In total, a quarter of a billion people have been through Spanish airports so far this year, 16.5% more than in 2022 and 2.3% more than in 2019.

So why is Corvera going the opposite way, despite Murcia being such an obvious sunny holiday destination, up there with the likes of the Costa del Sol, Mallorca and Tenerife?

Well, one of the main gripes that people have with it is just there just aren’t enough international flight destinations available all year round. Even though international winter flights to and from Murcia regularly sell out, Ryanair, easyJet and the others don’t have routes to the Netherlands, anywhere in Scotland… in fact, there are very few destinations, even in the summer high season!

Maybe they think it’s not economically viable, especially with the much larger Alicante Airport so nearby, but Ryanair has just recently announced changes for the upcoming summer schedule 2024 that will increase the frequency of flights to Glasgow Prestwick Airport in Scotland and add a new international flight route.

They have decreed that, as of next summer’s tourist high season, there will be 3 flights per week between Murcia and Glasgow Prestwick Airport instead of 2. What’s more, Ryanair will also run a brand-new city destination for summer 2024 with the addition of Marrakesh in Morocco starting from April 3.

In addition, passengers themselves now have the chance to add yet more new flight destinations, at least when it comes to one particular UK airport.

This Tuesday, London Southend Airport in Essex asked its followers on social media a very important question: “What destination would you like to see #BackForGood at London Southend Airport?”

Accompanied by a video of airport staff singing Take That’s ‘Back For Good’, they called for passengers to comment on the post to vote for which destination they would most like to see as a permanent fixture to and from Southend Airport.

Several flight routes have been added to Southend Airport this year, including Alicante, and this year’s winter schedule is the busiest the airport has had in the last four years.

Votes have already been cast on the Twitter post for Lanzarote, Corfu, Italy, Barcelona, Jersey, Malta and Glasgow. But now is your chance to make your voice heard and vote for Murcia to get people to see that what is really needed are more year-round flights in and out of Murcia!

Click on the link below to comment ‘Murcia’!

‼️STOP SCROLLING! We have a question...

"What destination would you like to see #BackForGood at London Southend Airport?"

Answer here 👇https://t.co/VSYMJXiPzH
— London Southend Airport (@SouthendAirport) December 12, 2023

At the same time, Murcia’s Regional Government is always trying to persuade the airlines to run more domestic and international routes. The Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports, Carmen María Conesa Nieto, said this week that more flights would be available next summer connecting Murcia to Bilbao and the Czech Reupblic and that she would “continue to insist on opening direct routes to Galicia and destinations in France and Italy”.

A flying visit

There’s nothing quite like Christmas in Spain. You can enjoy all of the usual festive fun – dazzling decorations, shopping, bustling bars and restaurants – but without the driving rain and biting cold of the UK. It’s easy to see why Spain is such a popular winter sun destination but Christmas here is quite different in many ways, so it’s best to brush up on some of the rules and nuances of the festive season to avoid being caught out.

First off, businesses the world over will want to take advantage of the extra tourist demand in December. This means that flights, accommodation and even trains between cities can be vastly more expensive than at other times of the year. If you’re planning a winter break, it’s best to book early to avoid being priced out of your holiday.

Once you’re here, you may be thinking that a cab is the easiest option to get from A to B in the crowds, or even to travel from the airport or train station to your hotel. But beware: so-called ‘pirate taxis’ are rife this time of year – ordinary guys and gals that turn their own cars into cabs to ferry unsuspecting tourists around.

This type of service is completely illegal so make sure you only jump into licenced taxis – they’re easy to spot as they always have a blue number plate on the back.

It’s a sad fact of our modern age but it seems that every week some sector or other is going on strike. This is increasingly common at airports, between pilots, cabin crew or ground staff, so always double check your flight is on time before hitting the road.

Indeed, for this year, Iberia baggage handlers have called for eight days of strikes on key vacation dates over this Christmas break. Due to a spat with their employers, they have decided to down tools on December 29, 30 and 31 and January 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7, coinciding with some of the main dates when passengers would be flying over Christmas and New Year’s.

Then again, they also called strikes for the December long weekend earlier this month and those were called off at the last minute, so there’s every chance that the same will happen over Christmas.

And for those travelling to Spain from the UK and other third countries, remember that border security officers are perfectly entitled to ask you for proof of funds to support yourself during your stay.

Christmas is a great time to hit the shops but while it’s true that the 25th isn’t as big a deal to the Spanish (Christmas Eve and Three Kings in January are the main celebrations), many businesses and shops will operate on reduced hours over the holidays, and several supermarkets close altogether.

All of the big chains should display their opening hours on their websites.

The Spanish like having a drink at Christmas as well as anybody, but in the last couple of years the authorities have been taking a harder line on what’s unflatteringly known as drunken tourism. In order to enjoy the festive season without running into trouble, it’s important to know the rules and regulations where you’re staying.

Many areas, particularly the islands, have now banned organised pub crawls, happy hours and booze cruises, and limit the amount of free booze at all-inclusive resorts, so it’s best to check the local regulations before you travel.

In Madrid, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, drinking alcohol in public places, except licensed bars and restaurants, is strictly forbidden and is punishable with a fine of up to 3,000 euros.

Murcia

After weeks and years of speculation, it has finally been confirmed that the Al Kasar Commercial Centre on Murcia’s Condado de Alhama Golf Resort, which serves as the urbanisation’s main retail and shopping hub, has been bought from its current owners, the Sareb ‘Bad Bank’.

The identity of the new buyer has not yet been revealed, but it doesn’t much matter. What’s important, at least for people who live on the resort and own property there, is that this could at long last represent the recovery of the shopping mall.

Over the years of its ownership by Sareb, the Spanish State bank that buys up toxic assets, the shopping centre was fairly abandoned. It seems that Sareb’s mandate doesn’t extend as far as looking after the day-to-day running of its assets, and of late it has been left to a collection of local business owners and volunteer residents to clean the communal areas of the place and carry out necessary maintenance and repair work.

Now, those days could be over, and it is hoped that the new owners – whoever they are – will help to make the centro comercial into a thriving community hub once again. This, combined with the grand plans Alhama Nature have for the hundreds of new domestic properties and the sports and leisure amenities on the resort, means there are exciting times ahead for Condado.

Many people in Spain will be familiar with the liqueur called Licor 43, which is a firm favourite tipple and is probably on your Christmas shopping list already. It’s manufactured in Murcia, and you may even have attended one of the hugely popular ‘Experiencia 43’ guided tours at the visitors’ centre in Cartagena.

Well, now that same great taste and Licor 43 experience is being brought to a new restaurant and leisure establishment right on the Cartagena seafront, next to where the cruise ships dock.

Named ‘Cuarentaytrés’, which is Spanish for ‘Forty-three’, the new building will have a bar serving Licor 43 in all its flavours and varieties, of course, along with other drinks. It’s more than just a bar-restaurant, though, as it will also offer a special events area for family, business and cultural events.

Meals will be overseen by Michelin-starred chef Pablo González-Conejero and you can see the cooks at work in the centre of the 180-person capacity restaurant in a kind of ‘showcooking’ area.

People have already started booking their weddings there for 2024 and 2025, so be quick if you fancy trying out this new Licor 43 experience!

One brave couple tied the knot not far away on Cartagena’s Cala Cortina beach last weekend in the first wedding ceremony to be held on the beach since the new law which was passed last year allowing weddings to be held on certain beaches in the municipality during the low season.

The happy couple was lucky to have gorgeous sunny weather, considering they had booked five months in advance to be able to get married on the beach in December. Not surprisingly, there wasn’t much competition for that slot. In fact, the Cartagena beach wedding scheme has been a bit of a flop, and this is only the second marriage since the new rules came in a year and a half ago.

Still, Cartagena’s Councillor for Tourism, Beatriz Sánchez del Álamo, who officiated at last Saturday’s ceremony, said, “Celebrating weddings on our beaches is a great opportunity to continue promoting tourism and be attractive to our citizens.” A study on the economic impact of such events in Cabo de Palos and La Manga, commissioned by the hostelry association for Cartagena, Hostecar, and based on pre-pandemic figures, claimed that that this type of celebration could generate around 5 million euros for the locality and create 2,700 jobs.

At least one of those jobs should be cleaning the beach before and after the ceremony, of course, especially considering the gruesome discoveries made on several Cartagena, Mazarrón and Mar Menor beaches recently.

The bodies of several dead cormorants, aquatic birds like black ducks with long necks that dive down to catch fish under the water, were spotted on Playa Chica in La Manga del Mar Menor, Cala del Pino in Cartagena and Playa de la Isla near Mazarrón.

We all remember the awful images of dead birds and fish washed up on the shores of the Mar Menor, of course, when hundreds, if not thousands, of the animals perished by suffocation due to the pollution of the Mar Menor lagoon. The incident prompted an increased interest in ramping up protections for the lagoon, but could we see a repeat of those dreadful scenes?

Well, it’s thought that the recent cormorant deaths actually have nothing to do with pollution as it’s only cormorants that have been found, and no other type of animal. Instead, local ecologists think that the animals have been getting caught on fishermen’s hooks while diving down into the water to hunt their prey, and they say that such deaths are in fact an annual occurrence.

The cadavers of the birds are being studied by at the El Valle Wildlife Recovery Centre in Murcia and a necropsy report will reveal the exact cause of death.

Also on the beaches, you can still grab a drink and a bite to eat on the shores of Los Alcázares as the Town Hall has taken the unusual decision to keep its chiringuitos open on the weekends over this festive period.

Normally, the beach bars close down outside of the high season but this year, given the unseasonably high temperatures, Los Alcázares has decided it makes sense to keep them open at least on Friday, Saturday and Sunday lunchtimes. It’s also a way of trying to break the seasonality cycle, and provide tourist services all year round.

If you’d rather get away from it all for a bit, though, you may get your chance if you go shopping in Lorca this Christmas. Being entered into a prize draw when you make purchases in local businesses is nothing new, of course, but what’s really special is that Lorca’s Business Association has really stepped up its game and are offering some truly amazing prizes.

If you spend just 10 euros in a shop on the high street this Christmas and New Year shopping period, you could be in for a chance to win a cruise for two people on the Mediterranean Sea or a trip to Mallorca for two! Just write your name and phone number on the back of the ticket you get along with your receipt when you make your purchase and you could be in with a chance of winning!

Or, if you’re staying round here for the time being, check out this ‘Jingle Bell Ball’ and carvery dinner in Camposol this Saturday, raising funds for Age Concern Costa Cálida, or any of these other events going on soon in the Region:

Check out our EVENTS DIARY to see more events coming up in the Region of Murcia:

Spain

A new tax on jet fuel proposed by Brussels threatens to increase the cost of travel, at least according to some of the leading airlines.

The package of levies falls under the EU’s plans to decarbonise the aviation industry, but the Airline Association (ALA) has warned that the measure could end up costing Spain 4.5 million tourists every year. If yet fuel becomes more expensive, airlines will have to pass this on to customers, which will naturally bump up the cost of plane tickets. According to those in the know, British and Germans tourists in particular will choose cheaper destinations like Turkey instead.

The association has therefore pleaded with the Spanish government to flat-out veto the proposed tax but if it is pushed through, the ALA has asked Spain to provide some kind of aid to keep the price of airline tickets down, as has been done in the UK and the US.

Is Spain headed for a big Covid comeback? It’s a dreaded scenario but infections have indeed begun to skyrocket again as the cold sets in, along with all other respiratory illnesses.

The Ministry of Health in Spain is keeping a close eye on the situation, and its experts were startled to discover that in the last fortnight, Covid cases have more than doubled, going from 8.9% to a 15.2% positivity rate.

We’ve moved on from household names like Alpha, Delta and Omicron and virologists are now concerning themselves with two new predominant strains - XBB.1.5-like + F456L, which today is responsible for 42.59% of all cases, and BA.2.86, which is present in 44.44% of all Covid-positives.

Their names might be a bit of a mouthful, but they’re really just more Omicron subvariants and the upside is that both mutations present with similar symptoms, making them easier to spot.

While loss of taste or smell generally doesn’t happen with these strains, all of the old reliable flu-like ailments will be present if you’re positive, such as congestion, fever and fatigue.

Alicante

A couple of weeks ago, we told you the sad story of the El Tintero kiosk, an iconic Torrevieja bar and restaurant that has been standing on the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean for more than 80 years.

Originally little more than a shack used for dying fishing gear, over the years the beach bar has been transformed into one of the Costa Blanca’s best loved venues, famous for serving locally caught seafood.

However, the building actually stood on public land and last month, the coastal authorities, or Costas as they are simply known, tore the structure down bit by bit, much to the distress of the family of owners and the locality as a whole.

Now though, Costas has announced that it won’t let the land go to waste and plans to turn the outcrop into a stunning viewing point, all in time for Christmas. Repairs have to be made to the foundations, which were damaged during the demolition, but all going well, the lookout point should be up and running by the end of the year.

Although Torrevieja City Council joined the battle to prevent El Tintero from being torn down, even going so far as commissioning an external study to have the kiosk declared an Asset of Local Relevance, it is all for the space now being used as a new viewpoint.

The council has, however, gone ahead with ordering the study and it’s hoped that this, together with a report commissioned by El Tintero’s owners, the Chazarra family, might at least be enough to save the original breakwater and picnic area under the kiosk.

It certainly hasn’t been plain sailing for UK holidaymakers since Brexit, who have had to deal with a plethora or new rules and regulations before even booking a plane ticket. One of the measures that has caught a lot of people out has to do with passports.

These days, UK passports need to be less than 10 years old on the day of travel, and must have at least three months remaining after you return.

But one Briton was blocked boarding a flight to Alicante from Luton this week when Ryanair ground staff claimed his travel documents were invalid. Mark Starkey, might have been cutting it fine, but his passport clearly met the requirements since it was issued on 11 December 2013 and expires on 11 July 2024.

“The ground staff lady noted that I only had three days left on my passport from the day it was issued for the 10-year rule. I said that I knew and this was my last trip of the year before I got my passport renewed,” he explained.

However, after she double-checked with Ryanair’s immigration team, Mark was informed that he wouldn’t be allowed to travel to Spain until her renewed his passport.

Mark, who felt “stunned that I was completely stonewalled” had no choice but to return home. He immediately booked a new flight with easyJet for the following day and was allowed to travel, on the same passport, with no issues.

Hopefully Mark’s distressing experience won’t be repeated anytime soon, as Ryanair quickly admitted he was denied boarding in error.

Shocking news has emerged from Benidorm this week of a young British expat sentenced to a staggering 133 years behind bars. The 27-year-old UK national, living in southern Spain, was found guilty of several crimes of the production and distribution of child pornography, cyberbullying and the corruption and abuse of minors.

Despite the lengthy sentence, Spanish law dictates that in reality, a maximum prison sentence can’t exceed three times the punishment for the most serious crime, so the Briton will only end up serving 20 years.

According to court documents, between 2019 and 2020, the paedophile made contact with 27 children and tried to coerce them into posing naked and masturbating. Thirteen of the victims complied, and the resulting videos and images were shared by the defendant on a child pornography forum.

When the Briton took the stand on November 7, he denied having filmed any of the children, despite the fact that the incriminating videos were found on two hard drives and a mobile phone during a raid of his Benidorm home.

The court, however, felt the evidence against the young man was more than compelling, and found him guilty on all counts. Apart from serving the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, the ruling establishes that the accused must compensate three of the abused minors in the amount of 6,000 euros each.

For things to do in Alicante over the next couple of weeks, check out Torrevieja’s Christmas and New Year programme, packed full of dozens of fun and varied activities for all the family.

Remember to join the Costa Blanca What’s On and Where to Go Facebook group for more great things to see and do around Alicante province!

Andalucía

It’s pretty chilly all of a sudden but believe it or not this week saw a record broken for the hottest December day ever on the Spanish mainland when thermometers in Málaga registered 29.9ºC on Tuesday.

Andalucia is no stranger to warm winters; before now, according to the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), the hottest winter day in Spain was recorded in the Granada town of Motril, which hit 29.4ºC on December 9, 2010.

One of the reasons Málaga reached such high temperatures this Tuesday was what’s known as a terrestrial wind, a type of breeze typical in the region that at night is directed from the earth’s surface towards the sea coast.

Meanwhile, 63 kilometres below the surface of the earth, tectonic plates shifted beneath the Granada town of Jayena, resulting in an earthquake that measured 3.5 on the Richter scale.

It happened in the early hours of Tuesday, shortly before 2 o’clock in the morning, but luckily it was one of those fairly frequent and not-too-strong quakes that didn’t cause any damage to people or property, and no calls to emergency services related to the earthquake were recorded.

Over in Almería this week, the footbridge that crosses over the rail tracks near the train-cum-bus station was dismantled by municipal workers piece by piece as part of the ongoing project to move the train tracks underground and bring the AVE high-speed rail connection to the city.

It’s a project that has people all over the province of Almería, from Mojácar to Roquetas, excited for the arrival of a train service that seems like it has been a long time coming. However, it will be another long time coming as the track burial work is not expected to be completed until 2026.

The tearing down of the footbridge this week was an inevitable part of that progress, but it was also one of just two bridges that pedestrians could use to cross over the train tracks, which fairly cut the city of Almería in half.

Now they will now have to walk much further to get from one side to the other, either to the other bridge which also allows cars to pass over it and will undoubtedly become much busier now, or through the park in the other direction. Either one of those options adds an extra 5-10 minutes onto the journey time. Such is the unstoppable march of progress.

You may have missed…

Spain hikes up motorway tolls for 2024.
Motorway tolls, which are already quite unaffordable for many drivers, are set to increase again from January 1, 2024.
British boy who vanished on Costa del Sol holiday 6 years ago found in France.
A British child who disappeared without a trace while on holiday in Spain in 2017 has resurfaced in France six years later, safe and well.
Cat colony could stop construction of new property development in Alicante.
A huge residential property development in the province of Alicante could be halted to protect a colony of around 70 feral cats, but first animal welfare associations must stump up 20,000 euros which they just cannot afford.
Washed up in Spain—Two tropical dolphins never before seen in Europe.
Scientists are baffled over how two tropical deep-water Spinner dolphins could have arrived in the relatively shallow waters of southern Spain, the first time they have ever been spotted in Europe.
How will house prices in Spain behave in 2024?
Property prices continued to increase in the second half of 2023 and this, coupled with ceaseless Euribor rate hikes, which have deeply affected mortgage repayments, has led to deep uncertainty about what will happen to the cost of real estate in Spain next year.

That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading and we’ll be back next week with your last roundup of the year.

See ya!

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