Paramount Operator moving into Alhama

The operating company behind the Paramount Theme park is setting up an operational office in the industrial estate in Alhama De Murcia (I would guess this in the area where the El Pozo factory is)

This is another positive sign that this project is live and kicking, on the back of this news, I read that  US research say's that properties adjacent to a "theme park" show a 22% increase in the local market value !

Premursa move into alhama de murcia

Food and Drink is back in Al Kasar !

Its good to report not one, but two new independent commercial enterprises opening in the Al Kasar courtyard. This site has a great pull and potential (with enough footfall !) and with the recent economic news over Corvera / Paramount and the huge rise in residential inquiries from buyers and investors, could 2012 be be the year to set up your shop in Condado ??

The Clover Bar re-opened officially last weekend and is under the ownership of the same hard working English couples who also run the Condado club located in the Jardines, running both bars on-site is a smart move allowing each to have its own profile and offer different things to different people without effecting the others trade. We all wish the guys concerned much success - I think they will do well, as its apparent that they have a background in hospitality and a capacity for hard work and long hours.

We were all sad when the Spanish  / Pizza restaurant closed in Al-Kasar,  we ate there on many occasions and always found the food good and reasonably  priced, (if you stuck to Pizza !!) the Paella we had was poor and the steaks were hard work to get through, even with the sharp knives supplied.

The closure of this facility was inevitably tied to the demise of PW and despite knocking an ugly hole in the wall to run a smaller part of the site as adjunct to the bar , the unit is currently sad and dusty looking.

Its good therefore to report that the lease has been taken over and the place will be re-opening to customers on Monday 2nd April - just in time for Easter !!  The concept is a Pizza/Bulgarian restaurant - I know these are two words not normally seen in the same culinary vocabulary but bear with me !

The new place will be under the management of  Darren and Yanka who run the existing Bulgarian place in the main square at Camposol B. This is a place I have walked past many times but never ventured into, so I can make no comment on what the foods is like - anyone one else eaten there ??  Bistro Bulgaria Website

For those (like me) who know nothing about food from this region a quick trawl online (and with thanks with  Wikipedia) shows that it looks good, be interesting to see what is available ??

Alicante is a top tourist destination for 2012

Alicante takes the top flight destination spot for Brits travelling abroad in 2012 it has been revealed by price comparison website dealchechecker.co.uk.

Up five places from last year, Alicante has always been a popular destination, offering great value getaways. A fall in local prices on everything from a restaurant meal to sun cream combined with the fact that the pound is at a two- year high against the euro has made the Costas even more affordable this year according to an annual survey conducted by the Post Office.

To highlight just how affordable, the recent Post Office Survey on global tourism trends revealed that Spain is the second cheapest destination with a price of £37.72 for eight every day items.

Last year, over 286 million overnight stays were registered in Spanish hotels, representing an increase of 6.4% over the previous year, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE).

Indeed, this trend looks set to continue according to a recent report from low cost airline Jet2.com and package holiday specialist, Jet2holidays where 1 in 3 sun seekers stated that they will be heading to the Iberian nation for their main holiday in 2012.

Making travelling to Spain even easier this year, Vueling, Spain’s low cost airline, announced it is adding two new destinations to its list seeing new flights from Cardiff Airport to Alicante and Palma, Mallorca this summer. This is excellent news for Spain as both routes are to popular holiday destinations and have the potential to significantly increase tourist traffic to Spain.

Paramount Murcia - Land Purchase Completed (nearly !!)

After the last minute delay last month in completing on the land at Alhama, yesterday PREMURSA had another go, and this time was more successful !!

Varying reports exist of this meeting online this morning and gleaned from these (and with thanks to babelfish for the language translations)  - see below my version of  the  "press release"

PREMURSA purchases Paramount Land

Wednesday 7th March 2012

MURCIA - The company Proyectos Emblematicos Murcianos S.A (PREMURSA) today finalised the purchase of 103 Hectares of Land in Alhama De Murcia for the construction of the future "Paramount Theme Park"

The sum paid for the land was 10.35 Million Euros, this was 5.5 M less than original price of 15.8 M Euros as not all of the land has been purchased at this time, 55 hectares is still outstanding for future purchase, this parcel of  land still has existing legal issues attached to it and is not available to notarize at this time. Despite this, the president and CEO of PREMURSA, Jesus Samper claimed this shortfall in land purchase would not affect the development of the project with the first stone envisioned within the next few months.  

The Murcian Culture and Tourism Advisor - Pedro Alberto Cruz also assured the assembled press that the first stone of "Paramount Park" will be laid in May of this year and the target date for the opening of the park remains at 2015.  Cruz continued to confirm the importance of this project to the Murcia region, a factor further strengthened by the involvement of the Ministry of Tourism who recognize and support this project wholeheartedly.

Paramount Park and LifeStyle Center is promoted by Proyectos Emblemáticos Murcianos S.A. (PREMURSA), a society formed by Santa Mónica Financial Services S.L., Región de Murcia Turística S.A. (REMUTURSA), and Institute of Promotion of the Region of Murcia (Info), that has an exclusively license with Paramount for the construction and operation of the park in Murcia for a period of 30 years.

Pedro Alberto Cruz - Murcia Tourism + Cultural Advisor

The new complex will include a theme park divided by themes into four areas, and two themed hotels, as well as the LifeStyle Center, a cultural, business and leisure area which will have seven hotels and a recreational area. The Paramount park and the first phase of LifeStyle Centre are expected to open in the first months of 2015. The entire project budget is €1.1 billion, according to Premusa, and more than 3 million visitors are expected annually.

Premusa is currently in the process of securing the additional €130 million necessary from external investors for this project to go ahead, “we’re on it” a source at the company told stated,  as soon as we have all the investors we will let you know.”  Meanwhile, a local Press report revealed Paramount will join the Premusa board to give more weight to this project although it will not invest any money into it.

Murcia Regional Culture Councillor, Pedro Alberto Cruz, said the project was “beyond the point of no return” according to local Spanish daily La Verdad.  Based on projects such as this one, Cruz maintains that “tourism will get us out of the financial crisis, because it has the capacity of generating short-term income.”  Although there is “currently not enough money for all the projects we would like to carry out” he admitted, “we will focus on strategic projects.”

These also include the Portman Bay and Cope Marina development which are “vital for the development of the region” he said. These will “provide Murcia with the best offer for tourists it has ever had, which will mean there is less competition” he continued.

In 2008, the Murcia Regional Tourism Department had a budget €140 million, which has now been reduced to €43 million. He said that tourism, farming and the food and agriculture industry are “the pillars on which the financial present and future of the region will be based.”

However, he also said that the construction sector “must recover, but keep to more moderate levels than in the past and attempt to diversify.”  Cruz forecasted that by the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014, “we should start to see signs of improvement” in the region’s economy. 

He admitted that culture is “not currently the priority” but insisted that “we can’t let the crisis do away with culture, as this is the most important and long-lasting essence people have.” Regarding the opening of the Murcia Region International Airport at Corvera , he said that the opening was “imminent” and will be the “best way to improve tourism in the region.”  In the first three years, two million foreign visitors are expected to use the airport.

Corvera Airport Edges Closer ??

The Corvera Airport Website
 
Its great news to see that Corvera has such a trendy website up and running,  after all the talk about it being a white elephant, that maybe wouldn't even open,  the project certainly looks to be going in the right direction to boost the local economy.

Few concrete details exist on confirmed carriers and opening dates, the only airline who has already confirmed migration to Corvera is Jet2.com


I think also someone also should tell the Corvera website team, that in the 21st century,  we now know the "passenger carrying vehicles" as "Aircraft "and not as the website says "Airships"....although that certainly would be a novel idea to dispel any noise nuisance over head ???.

Interesting also that one of the "airships" mentioned is a  747 as this would be a convenient tie up for long haul flights in from the US (visiting the new Paramount theme park maybe ??)

Alicante airport does look to be losing status as the airport for the region, with its continuing rows with Ryanair and the withdrawal from the airport in favour of Valencia by Lufthansa.

The footfall certainly exists for the region with Alicante pulling in 9.9 million visitor arrivals in 2011, by contrast San Javier saw a lowly 1.2 million arrivals in 2011 which was 6.5% down from 2010.