Property & Tourism Nightmares In Fuerteventura

Companies in the Canary islands rent properties to sun-seekers from a few countries. And these main nationalities are the Brits, Irish and the Germans.

Now this seems like a tiny section of the worlds varied countries. And there is a very simple reason for this: only a few countries have direct flights to the Canary Islands; and the runways are a little short for the bigger planes. Plus, only a few of these countries have advertising in place for these destinations.

It makes a lot of sense that countries with direct routes should push these locations, but it would be great of other countries approached the airline about routing into the Islands.

There is plenty of room for more airlines and competition, plus the airport in Fuerteventura has been revamped, as a huge population was predicted for 2008, and hundreds of properties have been built in expectancy of this.

But it never happened. But what did happen was the credit crunch hit, and it hit hard. The gas prices for airlines went up, and this expense was (helpfully) passed onto the traveler. But this has affected everywhere, and suddenly vacations seem to be a secondary consideration.

This is very sad as I live in Fuerteventura, and to see various places starved of tourists, the airlines not bringing the customers, is horrible.

I understand that this is a global phenomenon, but I guess its a little more obvious somewhere as small as Fuerteventura that relies on tourism. Its they don't come; the place is empty.

To see a place on its knees is a crying shame, and I feel for everyone around the world suffering a similar fate. It can be seen everywhere, but it's crystallized in this local microcosm.

But the Islands, and Fuerteventura in particular, are great places to visit. They are safe and clean, and the prices out here are amazing. Property is dirt cheap to buy and rent, and the average meal for the family is probably 40% less than the USA.

Come and join me in the Canary Islands; it might be a little trickier to get here. But I promise you'll have a ball.

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