Spanish Air Traffic Control workers have agreed not to strike on the originally suggested date of 16th August. Unions say it is unlikely there will be a strike in August which will come as a relief to make UK holidaymakers who are set to travel to the favoured holiday country.

This does not mean that there won’t be a strike at all, but both sides are willing to talk in an attempt to avert the action.

Spanish Air Traffic Control workers voted in favour of strike action over a long-standing dispute with the government over pay cuts and increased hours.

Ryanair suggested that the military must be brought in to help if any strike action does take place. The Spanish tourism industry has criticised the possible action because of the major loss in earnings the industry will suffer as a whole.

 The Spanish government estimate that they will be able to run 50% of flights if the strike goes ahead. View my previous blog here.

A possible strike by Spanish air traffic controllers in mid August could affect thousands of UK passengers.

If the strike goes ahead it is expected to last for three days from 18th August. However this date and duration has not been fully confirmed.

Staff have voted to strike in protest at government plans to change their working hours and reduce overtime pay. Over 2,000 staff will be involved if it goes ahead and will cause a massive amount of disruption.

The Spanish government has said it will seek to maintain ‘minimum services’ in the event of a strike.

Catalonia has voted to ban bullfighting. The vote followed a petition signed by 180,000 people who say the practice is barbaric and outdated. The ban however, will take effect in January 2012, not immediately as many would like.

The BBC reported that bullfight supporters insist that the corrida, as it is known, is an important tradition to preserve.

Barcelona’s main bullring is one of the oldest in Spain, but support for the bullfight has waned with many saying that the only people who really watch are tourists.

Although the vote was put forth as an animal rights campaign, many believe that this ruling is a way for Catalonia to distance itself from the rest of mainland Spain.

The Canary Islands were the first to ban bullfighting in 1991.

Beautiful Seville photo by Flickr User desbyrnephotos

Ryanair are to add a new route from London Gatwick to Seville starting this winter 2010.

The Seville base to be introduced in November will also allow passengers to fly to Bari, Paris, Eindhoven and Santiago. Cheap flights will also be introduced to Valencia, Marseille, Venice and Palma once the base has been fully established.

Ryanair will operate more than 250 return flights to and from Seville in total, increasing its passenger traffic at the airport to 1.5 million a year.

Ferry operators have been reaping the benefits of the recent ash-cloud chaos that grounded so many planes recently; however they are facing their own devastating blow as three major alcohol retailers withdraw from Calais.

The weekend’s newspapers reported that Sainsburys is to close its Calais Wine Store at the end of this month, Tesco is in consultation with staff about the closure of its Tesco Vins Plus site and Oddbins Calais, which is already closed, is not going to renew their franchise deal.

Majestic Wine had a disappointing 28% fall in sales for the financial year end in its three French stores but will remain open. Retailers have blamed the weak pound against the euro and cheaper UK prices for alcohol for the falls in sales.

However, ferry operators remain upbeat; a spokesman for Brittany Ferries said people would still be drawn by cheaper onboard prices of alcohol “for Brittany Ferries the market for people who take a day trip to France is still strong – last year we carried 125,000 such passengers plus 3000 shoppers to Spain.

“Whilst their sole purpose may not be to buy booze, as the “mini-cruise” experience on our longer routes is an attraction in itself, many take advantage of the bargain wine prices on board and at the numerous wine warehouses that still exist at our ports.”

If you’re going on such a little cruise and fancy a stop off in France or Spain, check out the best prices for quality villas at our main website and to make life a little easier, you can arrange for quick and easy transfers to your holiday villa from your arrival point with VaVroom.

In recent research by flight search engine Skyscanner there are some differences between the actual cost and value of a holiday in comparison to what people generally perceive for certain holiday destinations.

Skyscanner asked around 1,500 people several questions about how they view different holiday destinations around the world. The first question asked was to note whether a country in a list of 30 was ‘cheap’ or ‘expensive’. Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and Denmark topped the list. However, research into the actual cost of holidaying in each country revealed that, the priciest hot-spot was actually France.

Brazil was perceived to be just outside the top ten cheapest places to visit, when in actual fact it was the fourth most expensive, along with Russia as the fifth, which was also viewed as a cheaper destination.

When it came to asking people about the cheapest places, the perception was a lot closer to the reality with respondents correctly identifying places such as Thailand and Morocco as some of the cheapest.

According to the price research the most budget-friendly countries currently are Cyprus, Greece, South Africa, Dominican Republic and Morocco.

Results changed however, when the cost of flights were incorporated into the mix, long haul destinations made for more expensive destinations in total, such as New Zealand shooting from the top ten cheapest destinations, to one of the top ten most expensive!

I’ve put the whole research below to help you make your own mind up about where to go on holiday if budget is a factor:

Skyscanner, the flights search engine, have just published their UK passenger travel trends for 2010 to show the most popular holiday destinations for we Brits.

The top three are Spanish destinations, Alicante, Malaga and Palma. Portugal’s Faro and Dalaman in Turkey are in 4th and 5th with Tenerife in 6th and Ibiza in 7th. So from this it seems that Spain is rather a popular destination as it dominates the top half of the list.

 The second half of the list are long haul destinations, with New York at 8th, Orlando 9thand despite the political unrest in Thailand, flights to Bangkok are still very popular with British tourists, with the city entering in 10th place.

Perhaps this could be indicating more confidence in travel abroad as we edge out of recession and holidays abroad once again start to take precedent.

A Spanish festival designed to promote the country to potential visitors will be held in Regent Street, London on 6th June.

The “Taste of Spain” event will include giant paellas, flamenco dancers, medieval food markets and a range of participatory sports challenges. A dedicated ‘Hall of Spain’ will be a key feature for visitors to wander through 80 years of Spanish sporting history and experience the range of sporting activities available in the country.

In the interactive area, there will be an F1 pit-stop challenge that will give visitors a chance to carry out an F1 tyre change against the clock. An F1 simulator will feature the Montmeló FI track in Barcelona and state-of-the-art MotoGP simulators will transport guests to southern Spain to the popular ‘Circuito de Jerez’.

Football enthusiasts can take part in a kick point challenge, tennis players can compete for the fastest serve, basketball fans can try their luck in ‘shoot the hoop’ and golfers can participate in a ‘nearest to the pin’ contest.

Regent Street will be traffic free to allow for many other activities based on the different regions of Spain, including food, culture and music.

“A Taste of Spain” will take place on Regent Street from noon until 19.00 on 6th June.

A three times weekly service between Edinburgh and Barcelona is to operate during the summer by Spanish low fare carrier Vueling.

Flights will start on 24th June and run until 12th September with departures on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

This new route adds on to the airline’s existing portfolio of UK services from Heathrow to Bilbao, La Coruna and Seville.

Fares start at €50 (approx £44.28) one way, including taxes.

CEO Alex Cruz said: “Barcelona and Edinburgh have strong links and we are confident our flights will be appreciated by business people and leisure travellers alike.”

Vueling is also adding three flights a week between Valencia and Munich between 24th June and 30th October. A new route from Amsterdam to Ibiza is also being introduced for the summer.

More than two million holidaymakers are set to travel this Easter weekend.

Spain is the favourite country for people going abroad, with the Canary Islands – and Tenerife in particular – the most popular, according to ABTA.

Egypt has continued with its recent popularity and Tunisia and Turkey have also sold well.

Snow sports attract enthusiasts to Geneva to access the Alpine resorts of Switzerland, France and Italy.

Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin, Milan and New York are the top five city break destinations.

People are travelling to the Channel Islands and cottages in Cornwall, East Anglia and the North of England if they are staying in the UK.

ABTA chairman John McEwan said: “Easter is the traditional curtain raiser to the summer and I am delighted to see that hundreds of thousands of our customers are taking the opportunity to take a well earned break both here in the UK and overseas.”