ECOTOURISM

Nowadays, tourism is a very important source of currency for any country. Also, with the low-fares airlines every day more popular, travelling has become easier for most of the people...so we find hundreds of people queuing to visit Eiffel Tower or swimming in Caribean Sea...but, is it sustainable? Ecologist and “green” ideas are increasing importance in nearly everybody's mind...so, if you put together this two factors, you'll understand what “ecotourism” is ; the idea is to continue getting financial benefits from tourism, not only for big travel agencies but also for local people, but trying to minimize impact of visitors, building respect for the visited places and making it sustainable without destroying the environment. These are, basically, ecotourism principles ; do you agree with them? What do you think about building up big hotels 600m far from seaside. Or about the so called “sun and beach” tourism, so popular in sunny places?

PROPHECIES : Do you think is possible to predict the end of the world?

In Galicia we believe in "meigas", but should we believe in prophecies? Some of these prophecies say that the end of world is coming soon...and when we realise wars increasing, AIDS spreading, and now economic recesion , what we want to know is, are we going to last until next week? The most famous prophecies were written 400 years ago by the french mystic Michel de Notredame, better known as Nostradamus ; he wrote 942 verses and, although these prophecies are not very explicit, Nostradamus' supporters say that he predicted the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Second World War, the war in the Persian Gulf and even the 11-S...should we take them seriously? what do you think about it?

Exams!!!! Noooooooooooooooooooooo

Last night, I was dreaming about me in a little classroom and a very big teacher who said me "you 'll never this exam!!!!", I'm terrified!! I woke up very scared, with a great headache... 

This exams, mixed with the work and other personal subjects are killing me. My stress grow every day a little, and this is unbearable, I wish this month pass quickly and I don't became into a neurotic.  

Good Hollydays

Hello; my name is César, I live in Galicia and I have to say that last month I went on hollydays to Tenerife island. It was a fantastic experience which I will never forget.

I spent a week in that island. I arrived at the hotel at night and it was much hot, besides people weared shorts; I couldn't believe it!!!

I spent three days visiting all the island and three days going to the beach.

I could sea some mountains (Teide), museums and the tipycal towns of the island.

I think that it is a beautiful place to relax yourself and not to think in your own life. I recomend you going because it is an experience that nobody should loose.

Fitur.

This month begin maybe the best tourism fair in Europe.
Fitur begin the 28-29-30 of January for professional and 1 and 2 of February for the public. In Fitur, if you go to work you can find the best travel companies in the world, and represented the best tourist destinations you wanted as well as have information about your future travel. Fitur have 12 pavilions with 3 different zones. First zone: This is for the biggest travel companies, in this zone exposed the new ideas and product for the next season. Here you can talk with all companies (or the better your thing) for sold your product or have a idea about the products you can need in your work. Also have a Speeches about the international tourism or the new ideas about the tourist. Second Zone: This zone is the internacional zone,Here you can have information about all best tourist destinations .You can find maps, travels agencies, hotels….Furthermore this is the exotics view about the fair because you see diferrents customers in a small zone.In fact you can stay between China Stand and Australia Stand with the typical wear. Third zone: This is the Spanish zone,All regions are represented with bigs stands and you can take information about the zones. Maybe this pavilion is the best visiting because in Spain we prefer to travel around Spain. Here is normal to see famous people represented a regions.
I wish see you in Fitur 2009, I will go!!!

holidays

HOLIDAYS


I`m Maria Cambeiro. I like traveling and know new places.

When we are on holidays during a short period of time, we usually lost our time looking for places that someone has been before. It is very interesting to visit the Big Ban if you are in London and the Eiffel Tower if you are in Paris, all the places which are recomended by travel agencies, trotamundos, etc. are interesting, but, have you ever been in a place wihtout map or guide?, it could be an interesting adventure too.

Spa, an important tourism resource

Hello everybody. My name is Anxo and i work for a Spa company.
Traditionally, a spa is a place with hot mineral water to have medical baths, so spa were related to health tourisim and main customers were old people. Now a days, some spa have kept the old idea of being a place where ill people go to improve their health state by having hot mineral water baths, but many others have developed this concept to create the new spa resorts, which are more related to wellness, beauty and relax than health. Inside this places, it´s very common to find big swimming pools with a lot of muscle relaxing elements such as water jets, bubble jets, waterfalls, jacuzzi, bubble beds and others. Usually there are finish sauna and hamann or wet sauna inside them too . Several types of massage and many other body and facial treatments are available to the customers . Due to this big offer, spa customers form at present an assorted group of people, they aren´t just the sick elderly as they used to be, they are middle aged women, couples, families, old people or young sportsmen. Almost any kind of person can enjoy and feel better inside a spa.
Mental stress caused by work and life is the most common modern disease, and everybody wants eliminate it, that´s why they go to the spa, to relax. Many tourism business men have realised about this and have built one in their hotels, and many tourists go a certain hotel because it has a spa and other hotels in the same region don´t.
Due to all this reasons, i think that spa have become an important tourism resource.

Paradores

Hi everybody, mi name is Rebeca and I am from Galicia. In my first post I would like to write about Paradores, maybe the most important Spanish hotel Chain.

Paradores are hotels which are located in unique places, as historic buildings, old palaces or convents. All of them are buildings totally renovated to accommodate tourists with all the facilities, but also there are buildings recently built.

Because of its public ownership one of the main interests of Paradores is to refurbish historic buildings, as well as to improve tourism in areas which need it.

Furthermore, over the years, Paradores have incorporated to other business. At present, a lot of them have their own stores where you can buy products of the own brand. In addition, there are different Paradores that have their own restaurants where you can find typical food from the region.

Nowadays, there are 91 paradores distributed in three categories, three, four and five stars. Most of them are four stars establishments. On the other hand only two of them are five stars, Santiago de Compostela and Leon.

In my opinion Paradores is one of the best options to travel around Spain without renounce to high quality tourism