Benidorm and Costa Blanca, Spain
Benidorm in Spain
Benidorm is one of the most touristic cities in Spain. It’s up to the Costa Blanca and about 45 kilometers from Alicante. Benidorm is part of the Alicante province, which lies in the Valencia region.
Officially, there are 27,845 residents in Benidorm. However, it has to be said that this is only the number of registered citizens. The actual population is a lot higher. It is estimated that over 100,000 people now live here. This difference comes about because the foreign permanent residents are not officially registered with the city.
In the high season when holiday tourism is booming, the population will rise to around 1.5 million people. There are also many seasonal workers such as promoters, entertainers and hotel staff who leave at the end of the season.
The development of Benidorm
The rise of the city of Benidorm to a tourist stronghold was very rapid. In 1950 the place was still a small fishing village. Dreamy and romantic, on a wonderful beach with a lot of potential that was soon recognized. The then mayor, Pedro Zaragoza, began the first structural measures by paving the streets in 1950. Then he created a water supply system that the village did not previously have.
As early as 1956 he worked out a development plan. Construction work began immediately, and in 1967, mostly high-rise hotels were built in Benidorm. The background: So you could go straight into mass tourism. These huge structures still shape the image of the city today.
Although these complexes developed rapidly, tourism stagnated towards the end of the 1980s. So they thought about how to counteract this and came up with the idea of paying attention to better quality and creating a more balanced offer for the holidaymakers. Benidorm wanted to keep up with the holiday competition again. So the property areas of the hotel complexes were increased, and the residential units and houses were renovated and improved, thus creating visual improvements. The leisure activities have also been increased and improved.
The city had to be expanded due to the expansion of the building and property areas. So without further ado, the city limits in the south and north were moved further outwards. Today there are holiday homes and villas here for more exclusive guests. As it soon turned out, this was a smart move. The visitors came back.
By the way: Anyone who always thought downtown New York City was a forest of high-rise buildings should know that Benidorm is the city with the highest density of high-rise buildings in the world.
Tourism in Benidorm
The first tourist destination at that time was the Casa de banos leisure pool on the Levante beach. It was built and opened in 1893 by Fransico Ronda. Since then, over 85 million tourists have toured the city. Ascending trend. The largest group of guests are the visitors from the United Kingdom. What Mallorca was for the Germans for years, Benidorm is for them today Englishman.
The beaches of Playa de Poniente, Playa de Levante and Playa del Mal Pas are each 2.5 kilometers long and offer a wide range of leisure and water sports activities. The romantic old town centers of the various villages and towns along the beaches are well worth a stroll.
The two amusement parks Terra Mitica and Mundomar are particularly popular with younger guests and families with children. The old quarter, the church of San Jaime, El Balcon del Mediterraneo with a fantastic view, the island of Benidorm and the promenade of Playa de Levante are rated as particularly worth seeing.
The cultural facilities include the wax museum, the agricultural museum and the Aqualandia with many water attractions.
Costa Blanca in Spain
The White Coast of Spain is the most magnificent Vacation region Costa Blanca. Geographically, it belongs to the province of Alicante in the Valencia region. The Costa Blanca extends from Denia to Pilar de la Horadada.
If you have never been there, you might assume that the Costa Blanca is called the “white” coast because there is a lot of fine white sandy beach here, but this assumption is not entirely correct. Although the coastal region certainly over extensive sandy beaches, which are reflected very brightly due to the strong sunlight, sometimes dazzling white, but the name comes from something completely different. The name of the area comes from the many white painted houses along the coast.
By the way: The contrast between the wonderfully glittering and deep blue sea and the white-reflecting beach is also the flag of the province of Alicante. The Costa Blanca is often called the Gulf of Alicante.
Life and tourism on the Costa Blanca
The mild climate and Mediterranean temperatures make the Costa Blanca a particularly attractive holiday destination for tourists. Many of the German holidaymakers want to stay forever and so a large part of the immigrants have been of German descent since 1950. Today, many German emigrants come here to seek their luck in tourism. In the past, in the post-war period, the Costa Blanca was a welcome refuge for people with a Nazi past. Franco assured them protection from international persecution at the time. In this way, the former officers and SS men were able to lead an inconspicuous life.
When Franco’s era came to an end after his death, the entire area along the coast of the Costa Blanca managed to develop the tourist industries and infrastructures so that it became a real one Economic recovery went ahead. The business of building hotels, tourist services and all tourism brought with them a lot of work and sources of income for the population.
Tourism is also an important factor in the Spanish economy. It is said of the Costa Blanca that it is the largest construction site in Europe. Not entirely wrong, because after the tourism was expanded, more and more hotels and apartment complexes had to be built for guests and visitors. Sometimes it actually looks like the entire area is a huge construction site.
A total of 13 golf courses are now available for the upscale segment, and more may also be built here. In order to get a relation of what tourism means for the people and the extent of this: 52 more golf courses are currently being planned. As space decreases, so do real estate prices. Although the number of prospective buyers with the necessary budget is falling somewhat, there is still no talk of a slump or stagnation.
In addition, a change of clientele is on the way. While purchasing power has moved from the surrounding area and the southern part of Europe to Spain in recent years, buyers from Eastern Europe are now predominantly interested in the properties. This also creates special buildings like the showing Russian orthodox church of the noble urbanization Altea Hills.
Sights and popular destinations
The amusement parks Terra Mitica, Mundo Mar, Terra Natura and the safari park in Vergel are very popular excursion destinations along the Costa Blanca. Valencia is well worth a visit as it is home to the City of Coast and Sciences, a futuristic project with a science museum, planetarium and water park. Those who prefer to be culturally oriented will find the right setting in the Kunstpalast with plays, concerts and operas.
