Spanish olive oil is one of the country's most important export products

Spain’s economy recently had reason to cheer after the country’s secretary of state for trade, Jaime García-Legaz, announced that Spanish exports are set to head the European Union league table for 2013.

After years playing second fiddle to the construction industry, Spain’s exports now account for 33 per cent of the country’s GDP – a figure that is set to grow over the next few years. García-Legaz’s comments were echoed by the executive director of Spain’s Business Council for Competitiveness (CEC)…

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Spain's stunning diet and lifestyle is a key ally in the country's charm offensive

It’s been a chastening few days for Spain. Unemployment has hit a record high of six million (or 27.2 per cent), the country’s population has started to shrink for the first time since the 1940s, and even its two leading football clubs – FC Barcelona and Real Madrid – have been given unprecedented 4-0 and 4-1 drubbings by that most ominous of rising powers, Germany.

Yep, Spaniards have probably had enough. But hold on a second. While jobs, security and football are massively important, Spaniards can still hold their heads high in many other respects; and here are three ideas that could help them – and others – remember exactly why Spain is such a wonderful country…

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Ian Taylor of Cocinas Plus

Originally a Yorkshire lad – his father wanted him to play county cricket – Ian Taylor of Cocinas Plus never imagined that he would one day be running a successful kitchen showroom on the Costa del Sol.

Always something of a wanderer, Ian started out on his career in kitchens, not by selling them, but by working in them as a chef! He worked for a time in Switzerland, before leaving the heady heights of Swiss cuisine to sell fire extinguishers to farmers in Scotland! After which he had a spell running his own hotel, before deciding to make the move to Spain in 2001, where he settled in Valtocado, near Mijas Pueblo, and still resides today.

Ian talks to us about how he got into the kitchen business and his exciting plans for 2013… Continue Reading

Spain offers the complete - and affordable - package for holidaymakers

We have suspected it for years but now the hard facts have finally arrived: Britons’ love affair with France is over. Sort of.

The UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that British visitor numbers to France have fallen by a fifth over the past four years. During that same period, Spain has snaffled top spot in Brits’ affections – in 2012, a whopping 2.3 million more Britons visited Spain than France…

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Will stricter lending across the EU help stabilise the mortgage market?

The cyclical, boom-and-bust nature of Europe’s property market could be about to come to an end with the introduction of EU-wide mortgage laws designed to deflate property bubbles across the continent.

The past few years have been particularly catastrophic for the property markets of a number of Eurozone countries. Spain has had its fair share of woe and suffering of course (even though the signs are that things have begun to stabilise), and countries like Ireland and Cyprus have seen property values devalue by more than 50 per cent in many areas over the past four years…

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Marbella's mayor (second from left) meets representatives of British Airways and Turespaña

The Mayor of Marbella, Ángeles Muñoz, recently signed an agreement with British Airways to promote the resort of Marbella on 6,000 of its long-haul flights throughout July.

A dazzling promotional video promoting Marbella will be shown on passengers’ video screens during the summer. Mayor Muñoz is keen to further improve and increase the relationship between Marbella and the British market, which is thought to account for nearly 40 per cent of all tourists who frequent the upmarket resort…

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Recovering from a broken leg while skiing in the Sierra Nevada, Miguel Ángel Jiménez at the launch of his Torremolinos Municipal Golf School

Local boy done good, Miguel Ángel Jiménez – born in Churriana, Málaga where he still lives – recently opened the Torremolinos Municipal School of Golf that bears his name…

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Spain is unlikely to require EU bailout money this year, according to a Reuters poll

The Spanish government’s market reforms have been successful in diminishing the country’s need for a future EU bailout, according to a Reuters poll taken last week.

The poll, which was conducted among some of Europe’s most respected financial figures and economic observers, reflects a growing confidence in the Spanish economy’s ability to pull through the recession unaided. Instead, other countries in the EU – such as Slovenia – are now seen as the most likely candidates for EU bailout funds…

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Brits aboard: UK buyers are vitally important to Spain's property market

As you sweep through the property listings looking for a home in Spain, you may at some point stop and wonder why there is so much choice out there. And if you have ever pondered why the Costa del Sol has such a bulging and impressive, ahem, package, then read on…

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The faithful replica of the schooner 'Pickle' in Gibraltar

OK, so you’ll already have gathered this isn’t about stocking up with jars of Branston from Morrisons, or even with Brinjal Aubergine from the Waitrose shelves at Gibraltar’s new Eroski store.

The Pickle I’m on about is a 73ft twin-masted tall ship, and while she’s not the original topsail schooner that took part in the Battle of Trafalgar and raced to London to break the news of Lord Nelson’s death, she is nonetheless a faithful replica of the famous warship dating from 1799…

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