British Couples Cut Wedding Spending

Up until last year, an increasingly important part of a wedding for many British couples had been the stag and hen parties - and with easy credit and unemployment rarely a worry in recent years a party abroad with friends for a few days was all the rage.

Low cost flights too helped change party planning from the local pub and club with alcohol and girls to a bar or club with alcohol and girls in Spain, Greece and Cyprus. And for some Florida and New York wasn't out of the question either.

In fact, such was the demand for stag parties abroad that a niche travel industry has sprung up, specialising in making sure the long weekend turned out to be all the groom and his friends expected it to be.

The areas in Europe that benefitted most from the high spending alcohol fuelled weekends include Barcelona, Cyprus, Tenerife and Ibiza. New areas that sprung up as top pre wedding party destinations included Latvia and Estonia.

The bad news for these areas and the companies who get a share of the stag weekends abroad business from the UK is that the credit crunch is changing where stag parties are being held - and going abroad for 3 or 4 days with a dozen friends isn't a viable option for many now.

Five years ago an astonishing 58 per cent of pre wedding parties were abroad. Last year as ppeople became aware that the economy was getting more fragile that dropped by more than two thirds to just 16 per cent. Expect that to fall more in 2009 and 2010.

And the shift away from long weekends abroad to long weekends at home has seen London rise to be favourite destination for the party-goers, followed by Manchester and Newcastle, with each party-goer spending an average of 370 Sterling (around US $500).

With the number of traditional family holidays abroad also likely to be down from the UK this year, some areas are bound to feel the economic winds that are blowing through the European travel industry, but oddly some of the previously popular stag party destinations seem to be doing well - perhaps it's now the married couples with their children from the last decade who are returning to where they enjoyed their last holiday while single!

Cyprus for example did have a good June last year with an 8 per cent increase in visitors compared to June 2007, but that was after four successive months of falling tourist arrivals.

And Tenerife is on course to beat 2007's tourist arrivals, with suggestions that 20 per cent more people took holidays in Tenerife in 2008.

Los Cristianos in Tenerife, previously a small fishing village, is now one of the largest resorts on the island and favoured by some of the stag parties. Located in the southern part of the island, it is home to mass-market tourism. The architectural feel of the resort town is very typical Canarian. The town centre is never crowded with vehicles, as the entire area is pedestrian only. Both small and large boats share the large port. A wide array of boats can often be seen docking or parked in the bay. The resort has two large beaches and lots of cafes, restaurants, bars and shops to choose from.

Puerto de la Cruz is a large tourist resort on the northern part of the island. It is a mere 10 minute drive across beautiful countryside from La Oratava. The Puerto de la Cruz resort began as a port for La Oratava and the export of bananas from nearby plantations. La Oratava, Esperanza forest and Mount Teide offer amazing views from the variety of hotels in Puerto de la Cruz. Due to its volcanic origins, black sand beaches offer a very unique beach experience, and swimming is possible for much of the year thanks to the good all year round Tenerife weather. It is not recommended that you swim in the ocean on the northern side of the island, as there is no reef to protect the shores from harsh tides and sweeping currents. Instead, Puerto de la Cruz has a large open-air seawater swimming pool called 'Lago de Martianez.'

But whether Cyprus and Tenerife ride out the travel downturn successfully or not, there will be clubs and bars on both islands who would welcome a new wave of stag parties from Britain in 2009.

Seed Newsvine

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