Yes - it is today!

Please don't forget that the first formal meeting of Completely Cómpeta takes place tonight in the Salón de Actos at 7pm.

See you there!

© 2008, Image & Profile

The Costa del Sol Tourist Board results for 2007

This report of the Tourist Board press conference shows that the last year remained reasonably healthy for tourism. Hopefully some of the information might help you in plans for this year,

The Costa del Sol Tourist Board recently held a press conference where the tourism results for 2007 were released. According to president Juan Fraile, who attended the conference with manager Antonio Díaz and SOPDE CEO Rafael Fuentes, most indicators were positive.

According to the data published, in 2007 there were 6,746,707 airport arrivals in Málaga, i.e. 3.49% more than in 2006. While 26% of these passengers came from Spanish regions, the remaining 74% were international tourists. On the whole, the number of tourists visiting Málaga in 2007 was 9,518,000, with a 2.73% rise over the previous year.

With regard to railways, 392,146 travellers came to Málaga by train in 2007, using the TALGO 200 that links our province to the Spanish capital city. Thus, the province greeted 2.91% more train passengers than in 2006. There were 1,063,408 train movements (arrivals and departures) across the southern corridor in María Zambrano station. Remarkably, during the first 16 days of the Madrid-Málaga high-speed train, the number of passengers rose by 58%.

One of the travel segments with the most spectacular performances in 2007 was that of cruising. In fact, the 238 cruise liners registered in Málaga Port carried 291,754 passengers. This means that the number of travellers grew by 30.73%, while the number of ships increased by 3.93%.

With regard to employment, it grew by 5.35% in the catering industry, with 60,594 employees and freelance workers. Thus 3,079 new jobs were created in 2007.

As to the accommodation offer, there were 1,926 establishments available in 2007 (+4.84% over 2006), including hotels and guest houses, country houses, holiday cottages, apartments, and campsites. Together, they had 151,119 beds (+3.32%). Hotel beds rose by 1.92%, considering both the 2.5% in hotels proper and the 5.2% decrease in guest houses.

In the case of travel agencies, they totalled 662 in Málaga Province in 2007, which means there were 11.3% more than in 2006.

In 2007, the hotels in Málaga Province accommodated 4,838,062 guests, showing a y-o-y growth rate of 4.2%. These guests were responsible for 17,083,620 overnight stays (+2.7% vis-à-vis 2006). The average hotel occupancy rate was 57.53%, i.e. it was 0.75% higher than the average for 2006.

Moreover, tourists proved to be loyal to our travel destination, since one out of two of them said they had been to the Costa del Sol at least twice before.

According to the data published in the Tourist Observatory, the average length of stay for tourists visiting Málaga in 2007 was 11.14 days, pretty much a similar length to that of 2006.

The quality of the Costa del Sol as a travel destination got a high average rating: 7.76.

As to expenditure, tourists visiting Málaga in 2007 spent an average of 39.94 euros a day, whereas in 2006 they had spent 36.82 euros. Thus, daily expenses went up by 8.47%. Tourists’ daily expenses totalled 4,234 million euros. The fact that they were higher than in 2006 has to do with both the rise in the number of travellers and with their spending more.

Source: Patronato de Turismo de la Costa del Sol

© 2008, Image & Profile

Only 3 days to go!

Everything is set for the first meeting of Completely Cómpeta this Thursday - 24th January - at the Salón de Actos starting at 7pm

Invitations have been sent to a large number of businesses in the village, but if you have slipped through the net - sorry! You will of course be more than welcome to attend and hear about the exciting proposals we have for this business & marketing initiative.

See you there!

© 2008, Image & Profile

Financial help for small businesses

The Ayuntamiento has recently published information about subsidies available to small & medium sized commercial businesses.

Amongst other things there will be opportunity to apply for subsidies for the following –

· Acquisition of data processing equipment & software
· Internet connection
· Acquisition of technological equipment
· Enlargement & reform of commercial activities
· Acquisition of equipment & furnishing etc.

As always there are certain exceptions to the availability of support and you are advised to check carefully.

Expressions of interest end on 31st January 2008

More information can be obtained from the Local Development Officer at the Ayuntamiento de Cómpeta – Tel. 952 516 006 or 952 516 025

New email address

WE HAVE A NEW EMAIL ADDRESS

Please note that our new email address is -

info@completelycompeta.com

Please use this address for all contact with Completely Cómpeta

EU agrees major wine sector shakeup - will Cómpeta be affected?

After a three-day marathon of tough negotiations, the 27-nation EU has agreed a major shake-up of its troubled wine sector, aimed at winning back consumers and market shares lost to the "new world" wines.

"In the long term we were heading for the abyss", Portuguese agriculture minister Jaime Silva said on Wednesday (19 December), after EU ministers struck a deal.

According to EU agriculture commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel, the reform's architect, "instead of spending much of our budget getting rid of unwanted surpluses, we can now concentrate on taking on our competitors and winning back market share".

She admitted, however, that "we [the European Commission] didn't get everything we wanted, but we have ended up with a well-balanced agreement. I hope the Member States will make good use of the new tools available".

Under the reform package, the bloc's wine industry should shrink by grubbing-up 175,000 hectares of vineyards over a three-year period of time, although the grubbing-up scheme will be voluntary.

Brussels hopes that unprofitable growers will leave the sector and those ones willing to do so will be offered a grubbing-up premium - a financial bonus, highest during the first year of the reform, while subsequently decreasing during the next two years.

On the other hand, current restrictions on planting rights will be lifted from 2015, with the possibility to prolong them at a national level until 2018, and allow competitive wine producers to expand their production.

The EU is the world's number one producer, exporter and consumer of wine, but it is facing increasing competition from "new world" wines from the US, Argentina, China, Australia, South Africa and Chile.

Wine consumption in Europe is falling steadily, while imports of wines are growing much faster than exports.

On current trends, excess wine production is expected to reach 15 percent of annual production by the end of this decade - something that would mean an enormous burden for EU coffers. The union already spends around half a billion euro a year just getting rid of surplus wine for which there is no market.

Several key points of the reform package tabled by commissioner Fischer Boel have been toned down, however, such as her attempt to ban the use of sugar for enriching wine.

Under the compromise deal, enrichment with sugar will continue to be allowed, but maximum levels are to be reduced. Northern vine-dressers such as Luxembourg, Germany, Austria or Slovakia were particularly against the ban, as they have less sunny weather compared to the southern states.

The south itself has secured that aid for the use of must - a sweetener used in that part of the continent - will be abolished only in four years, not immediately as required by the commission.

New member states, which joined the EU in 2004 and 2007, have won a fairer system of distribution of the EU money among capitals, something known as national financial envelopes.

These will allow EU states to adapt measures according to their particular situation, such as promotion in third countries, vineyard restructuring or innovation.

The reform of the wine sector - employing almost two-and-a-half million Europeans - will enter into force in August next year.


© 2007 EUobserver, All rights reserved

What do you think might be the effect on Cómpeta? - send your comments to us using the 'Comment' link below

New date for first meeting

After months of careful planning and research the first date for a meeting of Completely Cómpeta has been set.

It is Thursday 24th January 2008 - 7pm - Salon de Actos - Ayuntamiento de Cómpeta

Watch this weblog for more information

In the meantime you can email us at info@completelycompeta.com

© 2007, Image & Profile