TravelClub

Andorra Ski Holidays Hit Snow Woes
By Paul la Vella-7925
Europe’s small independendent country of Andorra has impressively built her reputation over the last twenty years as a country with quality ski resorts, and has been successful to the extent that a country with a population of 70,000 has attracted ten million tourists a year.

Andorra has spent millions of Euros upgrading her ski facilities, and millions more improving her infrastructure to cope with the extra tourists, with new luxury hotels opening in recent years in ski resorts such as Soldeu.

But the one thing that ski resort needs, Andorra failed to provide at the peak of the season, mid December to mid March. Snow!

In response the Andorra tourist authorities turned to snow cannons providing a good cover of snow, and in the process nearly emptied the lakes, but for many skiers the artificial snow isn’t the same as the naturally falling snow.

The result was conflicting claims from the authorities who claimed a ten to fifteen per cent drop in ski holiday tourists, while some local businesses were saying it was closer to forty per cent. Whichever figure it is is bad news for a country that has invested heavily in the ski holiday market, and who has an economy relying on good holidaymaker numbers.

The tourists who did arrive in Andorra were those brave enough to book a ski holiday in advance of the ski season starting, but based on the last twenty years they had no reason to doubt that Andorra’s ski resorts would have good levels of snow.

For those who didn’t mind skiing on artificial snow the runs were bliss, with few people on the slopes compared to the normal number during what is normally peak season.

As well as being a top European ski destination, Andorra is a tax haven with no income tax.

Buying a property in Andorra is often seen as a route to residency, which entitles people to live in Andorra and benefit from her tax haven status, with the map of Andorra showing the all year round towns of La Massana and Ordino as lower than the ski resorts.

To obtain residency in Andorra, applications need to be submitted in Catalan. A notarised copy of the applicants passport, birth certificate and a certificate of good conduct from the home country are submitted at the same time. According to local travel guide YourAndorra.com residency normally takes between three and six months to be approved.

Once residency is granted, residents are supposed to spend six months a year in Andorra, but this isn’t policed.

One of the drawbacks for those looking to become a resident in a tax haven when considering Andorra has been that the country has no airport of its own, and is unlikely to have ine future given that it is located in the Pyrenees. The nearest airports are Barcelona and Toulouse.

Recent improvements in the road from Barcelona to Andorra though have cut the travelling time by some thirty minutes to two hours fifteen minutes.

‘Given the tax advantages Andorra has’, note one Andorra travel guide, ‘A two and a quarter hour trip to the nearest international airport could be viewed as a small price to pay for those who will be saving substantial amounts of money in tax. Especially when you consider that their properties could be rising in value quite significantly in the years to come, and for those who like skiing it’s a holiday and tax paradise in one.’

Andorra awaits the new ski season with more than the usual anticipation.

Article Source: http://www.articlemap.com

YourAndorra.com provides a guide for ski holidays in Andorra, including those with skiing company Crystal ski. The guide also includes a map of Andorra, the weather for Andorra ski holidays, and information about Soldeu and Ordino, the main ski villages.

Cheapest Flights Last Minute And How To Get Them
By Rupert Sherwood
A well-informed and frequent passenger will know of several methods of getting tickets for some of the cheapest flights last minute. However, it is not everyone that knows of such tips. Here are some of those methods which can make a last minute travel possible, and cheap too!

The first method is, of course, to get the unsold and canceled tickets that every airline gets stuck with at the last moment. In order to avoid a loss to them, airline services do not mind giving away these tickets at extremely low prices.

If you visit the airline websites, you can get some of these tickets. Even travel booking agents will have a stock of such cheapest flights last minute tickets which you can avail of by contacting them a few hours prior to when you want to leave.

Another way to get cheapest flights last minute is to get in touch with courier agencies. All courier agencies need stuff to be dispatched at various locations around the globe. Most courier services are understaffed, so they would not mind if you volunteer to deliver their packages for them. Here, you can even choose your destination and get the free tickets that courier agents are privileged to.

Being an air miles member helps. If you are a member, then the airlines will send you email alerts if they have last minute flight tickets to be given away. Even if they do not send alerts, you could ask them when you need to fly at the last minute. However, you have to be prompt about your queries, or you might lose out on you cheapest flight last minute ticket.

Firstly, it will be a discounted flight. Secondly, since you are an air miles reward-holder, you will get much better prices. In fact, this can be the best way to get your cheapest flights last minute, because by cashing in your air miles rewards points, you might even be able to fly free, and that too by booking at the very last minute.

If you are ready to make a few allowances on the way you travel, you can get great cheapest flights last minute. If you agree to travel by night, you can get last minute tickets easier, because many people do not use these flights. That could save you about half of the costs. One more option available to you is to take a flight to a smaller airport close to the one you need to go to. You can then carry your onward journey through the public transport available there. This will make you save a very good amount on your travel expenses.

Similarly, you can get cheapest flights last minute if you look for the newer and lesser-known airline services. These airlines need not necessarily be of poor quality - they are low-priced only for promotion sake. They might be a very good option for you to get tickets at low prices. It is also worthwhile to become a air miles rewards holder of such airline services because there is a possibility of getting continuous good offers from them as long as they are promoting. And, when the airlines grows in stature, they will not forget their original loyal customers. Their rewards will come in the form of better ticket rates for you, and priority in reservations.

Article Source: http://www.articlemap.com

The Author: Rupert Sherwood is an experienced last minute flights traveller. Learn all of the cheapest last minute flights insider tips and secrets from one of the best last minute flight internet resources.
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