Rising Fuel Prices Push Up The Cost Of A Lanzarote Holiday

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by: Mellieha Bay
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Word Count: 655
Date: Fri, 1 Apr 2011 Time: 12:37 AM
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A family holiday for many people is the biggest regular expense of the year, and for those that have already booked, a nasty surprise could be in store as tour operators start imposing fuel surcharges.

Although aviation fuel doesn't attract government tax and is dramatically below the cost per litre of what a European family would pay per litre to fill up their cars, it still forms a major part of the cost of a package holiday that includes flights, and the sharp rises in oil prices has led to some of the UK's holiday companies adding a surcharge for this year's bookings to popular destinations like Lanzarote.

It's not good news at any time when surcharges are levied, but with a lot of economic uncertainty any extra charges for a family holiday is currently a blow for many. In the UK the public sector is seeing job cuts, and some police officers could potentially see a drop in salary as overtime payments are reformed. The net result could be less families taking an overseas trip this year.

Commenting on how it would affect Scottish holidaymakers, The Herald commented:

Thomas Cook, which operates flights from Glasgow and Edinburgh airports to tourist destinations ranging from Las Vegas and Cuba to Lanzarote, Tunisia and Canada, said it had been forced to introduce the surcharges in response to rising oil prices, which had inflated the cost of jet fuel by 40% in the past year.

It means a family of four travelling with Thomas Cook Holidays in North America this summer will now be paying an extra £160, while those taking Lanzarote flights will have to pay an additional £100.

One leading British consumer organisation painted a pretty dark picture on the impact that further rises in the price of a barrel of oil could have on the country, saying it is a lot of money to find for just getting to your holiday destination. With all the uncertainty surrounding Libya and whether the unrest could spread to Saudi Arabia and other big oil producing Arabic countries, the price of a barrel of oil could easily go higher. People might find they won't be able to travel anywhere, never mind just going on holiday.

Time will tell if they are right, but for those who are wanting to take a Lanzarote holiday - what can they expect to find upon arrival if they haven't visited before, apart from the great Lanzarote weather which makes the island popular in the winter months as well as the summer?

The largest and busiest resort for tourism is Puerto Del Carmen. Three areas of interest are Matagorda, Old Town and Avenida de Las Playas, also known as "the strip." This is where many of the shops, bars and restaurants are located.

Matagorda is near the airport and has a range of bars, restaurants and holiday activities. The golden beaches in this area are often windy, which is great for parasailing and other water sports enjoyed by some tourists.

For those who prefer some peace and quiet, the smallest holiday resort area on the island is Puerto Calero. Accommodation choices include a few good hotels and self catering apartments rented out privately by owners - for those who prefer self catering quite a few villa holiday companies include Lanzarote villa holidays in their portfolios. privately owned apartments. The harbour area of Puetro Calero is sometimes reffered to as the 'Millionaire's Harbour' locally because of the number of expensive yachts that call in. The harbour area has a good choice of restaurants and shops and a local attraction includes a whale and dolphin museum.

If you're visiting Lanzarote and oil prices continue to rise, you might find there's more space than usual in the restaurants around the harbours!

About the Author

yourlanzarote.net is a vacations resource that includes for new visitors a Lanzarote map

As well as hotels they also have villa holiday companies who have a choice of Lanzarote villas to rent.