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Holidays And Attractions On Ibiza

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Ibiza is the second largest of the Spanish Balearic islands, after Mallorca, and has been welcoming tourists to its shores since the time when cheap charter flights became more widely available in the 1960's. A period of sustained growth then followed as the island developed its offering for tourists, with new hotels and infrastructure being created, and by 2009 almost 2 million visitors every year were coming to the island to enjoy a holiday.

Ibiza is one of those places, like Mallorca and the Canary Islands, where British visitors make up the largest group of tourists, with almost 40 per cent of those travelling to Ibiza coming from Britain. Like the places previously mentioned, German visitors are the next largest group with native Spaniards making up just over 10 per cent. So why is Ibiza so attractive to us Brits, while the Spanish prefer to go elsewhere?

Perhaps it's the relatively unfussy nature of the Brits when it comes to quality of accommodation and number of cultural attractions. That's not say that Ibiza can't step up to the mark in those departments, but looking at British travel brochures these features don't seem to be given as high a priority as the superb weather on the island and the 300+ beaches it can offer. That "Sun and Sand" combination is always the thing British travellers look for in a summer holiday and its importance is no surprise given how unreliable the weather in the UK is with rain a constant threat. Like Mallorca however, Ibiza also has other charms and there are other smaller groups of people who come to the island for very different reasons.

Ibiza has long been a location that has attracted wealthy second-home buyers at the younger end of the market. There are stylish and modern villas all over the island and for those who enjoy sailing, numerous harbours and purpose-built marinas are home to all manner of motor cruisers and yachts. Of course very few people purchase a holiday home in locations that don't provide holiday weather and Ibiza's mild, dry climate, that typically offers longs days of sunshine for most of the year, is a key factor. Transport links are also very important with second-home owners enjoying the convenience of frequent low cost flights to the island from all over mainland Europe.

In terms of being a player in the competitive package tour business, Ibiza has a very well developed offering. The airport, which has been the subject of numerous modernisation projects over the past 50 years, now boasts modern runways and terminal buildings and handles business approaching around 5 million passengers each year. The airport is located in the southern part of the island, just a few miles outside Ibiza town, but this location is not a problem for tourist transfers as the island itself is just 25 miles end-to-end, so the trip between airport and hotel is always a quick one. The airport is also convenient for those wishing to make the short onward journey to the neighbouring island of Formentera, which is well known for its high quality beaches and quieter atmosphere. Perhaps for these reasons, Formentera is preferred by Spanish holidaymakers, many of whom travel there directly by ferry from mainland Spain.

Ibiza's reputation as a location for clubbers has developed over the past decade as bigger and more sophisticated night clubs were developed to cater for the huge party scene that was expanding year on year. The roots of this scene can be traced back to the hippy communes that existed on the island in the 1960's, when small groups of young people spent the summer on the beaches enjoying sun, freedom and social activities. Big nightclub brands from all over Europe invested either in clubs themselves or in sponsoring specific events and the segment just grew and grew until both Ibiza Town and the nearby town of San Antonio could boast a handful of very successful venues. The movement to and fro across the island of the clubbers between the two towns, which lie on opposite sides of the island, even led to the development of the huge Privilege night club that lies midway along the connecting road between them. Controlling the growth of this particularly part of the tourism trade on Ibiza has been a headache for the local authorities, which has had to balance the commercial benefit of the clubs with the disruption and impact on the local community. However difficult that might have been, the municipal authorities have always taken timely, adequate steps to make sure the clubs could continue to operate effectively, safely and with minimum disruption. Some suggest the scale of the club scene has perhaps reached its peak and a move to smaller, more exclusive venues will result in a calmer party scene, more suited to the remainder of the island.

{Look further than the attractions aimed at the clubbers, Ibiza presents a very different side, an island with hundreds of beautiful beaches, new, designer hotels and stylish coastal and inland villas. Ibiza's villages are home to welcoming cafes and restaurants offering local cuisine as well as cultural activities like weekly markets and traditional fairs and carnivals.

Ibiza has always had one eye on its larger neighbour Mallorca, when it comes to developing its tourism offering and it is predicted that, just like Mallorca, holidays that include a sporting element will become increasingly important. The sector is already being given a high profile by the island's tourism authorities and increased investment in marketing Ibiza's offering for runners, climbers, swimmers, windsurfers, sailors and golfers will be a feature of tourism development on Ibiza in the future.

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Mark, a highly regard travel writer, has witnesses the holiday offering on Ibiza improve over the years and regular flights to Ibiza have helped that hugely. Now that many carriers offer cheap flights to Ibiza, the island is attracts tourists from all over Europe.

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