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For Affordable Winter Sun And Essential Vitamin D, Visit The Canary Islands!
By Rhiannon Davies
Brand new research from the Journal of the American Heart Association reveals that vitamin D is critical in offering us protection against all sorts of serious illnesses and conditions such as strokes and heart failure, and that vitamin D also plays a vital role in supporting bone strength.
The findings of the research, which took five years to complete, have been published along with evidence that only around 10% of us ever has high enough levels of vitamin D in our bodies because we lack exposure to the one source guaranteed to top us up, namely the sun.
And how well timed is the publication of these findings? After all, in January we are more likely to be suffering from winter blues and post-Christmas depression than basking in sunshine and soaking up our daily dosage of essential vitamin D...which is where the topic of winter sun holidays certainly comes in!
In a recent article in the Guardian newspaper, a reporter cites ABTA, (the Association of British Travel Agents), as saying that because summer 2007 in the UK was such a washout, the 2007/08 winter sun season is going to be busier than ever with record numbers of Brits having booked to go abroad in search of the warm rays of the sun.
If you're one of the estimated 3.5 million Britons heading off in search of winter sunshine this season, which are the destinations that you should be focused on for guaranteed vitamin D levels, excellent affordability, ease of accessibility and a great holiday to boot?
Well, according to the Telegraph, ABTA and the Times newspaper, the number one location you should be considering in 2008 is the Canary Islands.
The Canary Islands are an African archipelago that make up part of the Kingdom of Spain. They are a dramatically beautiful group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean that enjoy year round temperate conditions making them ideal for winter sun, and also summer sunshine holidays.
Accessible from the UK in around 4.5 hours and serviced year round by a host of cheap flight operators such as Jet2fly which has flights currently starting from just GBP 49.99, the Canary Islands are a favourite with sun seekers and a favourite with travel correspondents from leading British newspapers this season it seems.
Interestingly enough, 2007 was a poor year for the Canary Islands – both in terms of tourism arrivals and property prices. Tourism arrivals declined to 7 million between January and October 2007 with predictions at the start of the year estimating arrivals during this period at around 7.25 million. And average property prices on the likes of Fuertaventura, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote also declined in 2007.
According to Martin Dell, the managing director of award winning Spanish property portal Kyero.com, the Canary Islands now offer so much more in the way of value for money for would-be Spanish home seekers. For example, according to Mr. Dell: “Fuerteventura recorded an average price drop of 9.2% in 2007, Gran Canaria saw a drop of 4.8% in average prices throughout the year and even in Tenerife where there was actually a property price increase of 7.5%, average property prices still remain 15% below the national average in Spain.”
These facts and the news about the tourism decline in 2007 caused something of a knee jerk reaction or perhaps an awakening in Spain, and a concerted drive has been made to once again promote the attraction of the
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Canary Islands which is why so many British journalists are now once again revisiting the delights of the archipelago and passing on their positive findings to their readership.
The islands derive almost a third of their entire GDP from the tourism industry and a further 20% from construction – so you can see how essential their travel and property markets are. Good news for the consumer going in to 2008 then – because the government and private sector are both behind a significant push to once again promote the delights of the islands.
What this means for the likes of you and me is that if we're looking for cut price holidays and reduced price Spanish property in 2008, along with our winter sunshine and our vitamin D fixes, the Canary Islands are the of choice. And offering a one stop shop for tourism and long term rental property as well as property for sale in the Canary Islands is the aforementioned kyero.com…making it much easier for you to find a vacation home for a property inspection trip and a healthy dose of vitamin D, locate properties you might like to buy and arrange for a longer term rental home for you to move into whilst you wait for the completion of your property purchase to go through!
In terms of which Canary Island to choose from, well, you can select from Tenerife, Fuertaventura, Gran Canaria, La Gomera or Lanzarote for example - each island is popular and each is also distinctly different from the next and offers an entirely different travel experience.
For example – Tenerife is the most well known and also the largest of the islands. It has two airports and most visitors head for the south of Tenerife as it has the best climate and is very well developed with an excellent array of amenities and facilities to keep the entire family happy on holiday. This island is very popular with holiday home buyers too, and as prices are so far below the national average you can snap up your own Spanish property bargain for the median price of EUR 219,500.
If you prefer a slightly quieter then how about Lanzarote; home to César Manrique and a great deal of the artist's stunningly dramatic artwork and home to property prices that have dropped to around an average of EUR 312,000. Or maybe, if you prefer outdoor sports such as surfing, diving, big game fishing or 4x4 safaris, you might prefer Fuertaventura? The tourism and property markets in Fuertaventura are in their infancy relatively speaking when you compare the island with others in the archipelago. As a result, prices remain affordable with the cost of an average home being EUR 250,000.
For nature lovers and those who holiday in search of tranquility, you might be recommended to try La Gomera, and if you're interested in discovering a miniature continent, try Gran Canaria – home to more landscape and climate varieties than all the other islands put together and home to very reasonable real estate prices of around EUR 198,000 – 1% below the national average.
As you can see, the Canary Islands offer more than mere winter sun appeal and essential vitamin D doses – they offer a diversity of geography and climate, a short haul, affordable and accessible year round sunshine destination, and a location where property prices have declined in recent months and now offer would-be buyers better value for money. 2008 is likely to be a very good year for the Canary Islands!
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