Its nearly the end of July and the streets are quieter than a wet weekend in Doncaster - no offence made against Doncaster before you start!
We are repeatedly visited by holiday makers who are surprised how cheap everything is - they were told in the UK that is is very expensive here
A few facts for anyone thinking of visiting here - it is cheaper now to eat and drink out here than ever before. AI will not save you any money against eating and drinking out, the quality of AI is very poor but great if you like to queue all day every day.Do not be conned into it on arrival. The streets are safer than anywhere else in the world i know of to walk after dark - don´t listen to the reps spiel.
The government needs to get its finger out of its arse and start getting holiday makers here again and the UK public needs to stop believing the crap they read in the papers about where they should spend their holidays.

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=12

Doesn't matter how cheap things are if you are one of the 2.3million unemployed.....

753,000 lost their jobs just this year - and probably twice that worried that they might be losing theres.

http://www.moneyfacts.co.uk/Article/059 ... level.aspx

Think this is where everyone is spending there cash - I certainly am!

The schools in the U.K. break up next week so hopfully things will pick up soon. Its a very competitive world out there. Most of my aquaintences are going A.I in places like Eygypt for for the price of a flight to Lanzarote.
We are all going to have to work hard at promoting the benifits of your wonderful Island. The weather, the food, the magnificent scenery, the easy pace of life. etc.
At the risk of getting my head snapped off, this forum and particually another I lurk on, need to stop bickering and show a united front in encouraging tourists and fresh blood, businesses to the Island.

Ray

But if you are at threat of losing your job booking a family holiday is the last thing on your mind.

Virtually every organisation in the country is looking at its head count. I haven't planned any holidays this year because my organisation is cutting 2000 jobs.

So even though "only" 2000 are getting cut the other 20,000 employees are cutting their expenditure just in case its them.

I guess that is being replicated through out the country.

i have just finished my cleaning at a guest house which we are contracted too iwas talking to the owner and they said they have never been as busy she says its because people are staying at home to holiday with the exchange rates ect the only thing is our unpredictable weather so people are still going away but not abroad

Foodie, your money facts link sends me to page about mortgages - i dont need a mortgage!
Your telling me what i already know - i was working when the last recession was on so i know all too well about job worries and insecurity. I am trying to point out what is going on here and how people are misinformed about holidays here, not trying to find out why you have not booked a holiday this year.
Ray, your points are very valid and nobody should shoot you down, although the armchair experts will

Laesquina - am just trying to back up my opinions with some hard evidence.

Personal hearsay and whatever is all very good but the reason why people aren't coming to lanza isbecause of unemployment (and the fear of it) and the fact that people are ploughing any spare cash they have against their mortgage.

So for everyone 1 person who has been made redundant - it is likely that 10 others are in fear of it (even if they do not in the end lose their job) and others are taking pay cuts to keep their job.

Your bar could be giving away free drinks but unless you add in free holidays too people will be holidaying closer to home, or AI so they know what they are paying or not holidaying at all.


Sorry if these are the cold facts and clearly not what you want to hear but those are the reasons I am not coming to Lanza this year. Nothing to do with being an armchair expert. I am a very real, alive, lanza loving none tourist for 2009.

To say it's cheaper than ever before to eat and drink there is nonsense, have you seen the exchange rate????

Yes you can shop around, as we did, but that's simply untrue.

Laesquina - how can I and others in a similar situation spend money in Lanza when we aren't even planning to come?

Of course you can do things to increase your sales at a local level but when you have percentage drops of tourists like 20% plus year on year the quicker you lot get your head out of the sand and look at the bigger picture the better.

Robert,
My thread is based around the Costa section and not PB - Its an average of €3 a pint down there - €1.50 up here. I can get all you can eat Chinese buffet for €4.50 and sirloin steak and chips for €6.50, all of these are much cheaper than last year.Yes i have seen the exchange rate - i walk past it everyday on my way to my business. I dont need to look in the paper or visit my local bank to see it.So you suggest that business owners lie over here about how much cheaper things have become - did you not go in the new branded express supermarkets?
Foodie never said you were an armchair expert but if the cap fits!We are all entitled to an opion and you are one of the most opionated on here - most of the time people disagree with you, maybe that should tell you something.
Read my comments correctly instead of reading only half of it and then going back to post another bit when you read a bit more.You seem to think you are an oracle for the whole of the UK by your statements - you can only speak for yourself and not the nation.
I am interested to know how i can increase my trade at local level when you have never been in the bar, know what my turnover is or what my expenditure - have you got a business plan for me!!Please enlighten all of the business owners here of how we can take ourhead out of the sand and please explain what the bigger picture is for us. You could also let us know how old you were at the last recession so that we can draw on your wealth of experience from that.I dont remember asking you why you were not coming or anybody else that you may care to know.

As usual a thread gets over taken by people who spend a few weeks a year here at best and then profess to know everything about how we should be doing things.

I take it the lunchtime bell has gone and playtime is over then - i will await your detailed plan of action for all the business owners here - i am sure everyone is very interested and a place on local goverment in Lanzarote may await you.

Think this rather sums it up.

Laesquina - you run a bar right and I guess the people who pay your bills are the tourists who spend a couple of weeks a year......?!

This is laughable. Until you can actually look at your business through the eyes of a customer we really are wasting our time.


Last recession - yes I remember it well. My dad lost his job, we had to sell our house and because of the drop in house prices had to live in a rented sh*thole for 18 months.I had to move schools. Sold pretty much everything we had.

So yes was fairly traumatic to put it mildly.

And if you don't wake up and realise that is the boat many of us are in over here you might be in a similar situation.

So thats why am paying off the mortgage and not coming to lanza this year!

Oh you wanted a detailed plan? Well its a waste of time until many of you rejoin us on planet earth!

Why are some business owners so arrogant? Don't you want my money? Maybe that has something to do with it....

Foodie,
Yes i do want a detailed plan - you profess to tell us that we should do this that and the other but cannot put it in print - are you in politics by any chance.
You were a child in the last recession then - i was working and had to provide for my family, the stresses were even greater as a provider, ask your parents!
Yes i do run a bar and i have agood mix of local and tourists - they dont tell me how to run my business and tell me i have my head in the sand because they think they are right.I appreciate every customer - many of them are regulars on here and they know the type of person i am.I talk to as many customers as i can to get a feel for how things are in the UK and i appreciate feed back.
If this isarrogance, maybe you should try reading some of your own posts sometime - ´dont you want some of my money´- thats quite difficult when you have already told me you are not coming over here in the first place!

So i will ask you once again - a detailed plan for all of the businesses over here so we can improve our trade at local level - put up or shut up Foodie,whats it to be?

And as usual a resident dismisses the views of the tourist.

Robert,
I posted a response to you which you have not answered - your usual trick when you have no answer.Did you go in the new express supermarkets and see the difference in price?

How many times did you visit Costa when you were last here and how many times have you holidayed in Costa in the past?

Am i in aposition to dismiss your point of view because i live here and see things daily as opposed to a few weeks a year? There are many points which i agree with from contributers to this forum.
I have asked Foodie to back up his claims of how we can improve things at local level - maybe you could enlighten us - promise not to dismiss it - unless its utter crap of course