Are we still all off to sunny Spain?

IT was five years since the end of the Second World War, and Britain was emerging from the strictures and privations imposed over the previous decade. The once-lengthy list of rationed goods was shrinking, and Britons were ready to say goodbye to austerity. It was an ideal time for Vladimir Raitz to launch the first package holiday to foreign climes.

Raitz, a 27-year-old Russian migr, chartered a wartime Dakota in May 1950 to fly to Calvi, on the Mediterranean island of Corsica, his first 17 holidaymakers paying the princely sum of £32 10s for the privilege of spending two weeks in old army tents by the seaside.

But it was Raitz's decision to target the Costa Brava four years later that really saw the package holiday take off. His Horizon holidays turned resorts including Lloret de Mar, Tossa de Mar and Blanes into favourites among the British holidaymaker, although in 1954 it was not high-rise hotels but small fishing villages which peppered the Catalan coast.

As air travel became more affordable, the lure of exchanging the British climate for a fortnight in the sun proved irresistible to millions. Many were also enticed by the standard of the hotels, at a time when outside loos were still common. By the end of the decade, 2.25 million people took package holidays, even though the 69 guineas for a two week break in Lloret de Mar in 1957 was the equivalent of £1,102 per person today. By 1968 there were five million package holidaymakers - it seemed the rise of the package deal, and of Spain in particular, was unstoppable.

But now the British holidaymakers' love affair with Spain, if not coming to an end, has at least hit a rough patch. First Choice, one of Britain's main tour operators, announced this week that it is to drop the Costa Brava. Resorts which had been mainstays of the Spanish tourism industry will be absent from the summer 2005 brochures. Cosmos, MyTravel and Thomas Cook all subsequently revealed that they had doubts about the region.

The blow to the original Costa comes as Spain as a whole is losing ground among British holidaymakers. Although still the most popular destination, bookings to Spain are down 25 per cent on last year, the result of a combination of the rise in low cost flights opening up new markets, an unfavourable exchange rate making Europe expensive compared with other destinations, and uncertainty amid the increased terrorist threat.

"There is certainly a trend away from the Costa Brava, and there has been for many years," says Nigel Evans, principal lecturer in travel and tourism at Northumbria University, "although part of that was the Costa moving towards car-based and camping holidays, particularly for the French market.

"But in terms of airborne package holidays from Britain, they have decamped and moved to the Costa Blanca, the Costa del Sol, the Balearics and the Canaries." As later entrants into the tourist market, these resorts were perhaps better able to plan their growth, avoiding a proliferation of the ugly developments which mark some resorts, and, being further south, their climates are more dependable.

MANY of the complaints among the British holiday companies concern the standards to be found on the Costa Brava, even though there has been a consistent shift upmarket in the resorts, ditching one and two star hotels altogether and introducing environmental improvements, such as tree-lined promenades. According to Club 18-30, which has also dropped Lloret de Mar, it is no longer "sophisticated enough" for its clientele. But Mr Evans says there may be longer-term factors at work which have seen the Costa Brava lose its appeal.

"Tourists are much more experienced now, and looking for more diversity. They're more likely to look for long-haul holidays and more activity-based trips, as well as beach-based holidays. There is much more choice than there used to be, and people are more aware of the hazards of sun-bathing," he says.

"We're certainly looking at other places now, and Spain has got an awful lot of competition on its hands. There is a definite trend towards more exotic destinations, places like Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and North Africa are providing competition, and the exchange rate against the dollar is making Florida very popular."

The rise in low-cost airlines is posing a threat to the package holiday, as is the ease of Internet booking. Fears about paying large amounts of money over the Internet have largely been eased by the ubiquity of online shopping, and it allows holidaymakers to build their trip to their own particular tastes, combining flights, hotels and car hire, all from the comfort of their own home.

But the travel industry has responded by becoming more flexible and offering individually tailored holidays, and can save customers both time and hassle. It's far too early to write off the package holiday, reckons Mr Evans.

"You are gaining economies of scale that the tour operator is able to negotiate for you over hotel rooms, and by having high loads on their planes they're able to get cheaper fares. And most people still want it all bundled together, which is what a package holiday does for you," he says.

And just like the package holiday, so there's plenty of life left in Spain as a holiday destination. It still accounts for around a third of the 22 million package holidays sold in Britain every year, and while Greece and Turkey are still growing in popularity, Spain is the nearest guaranteed sunshine destination. "It is by far the most popular foreign destination, and Spain shouldn't be underestimated," says Mr Evans.