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Many visitors
to traditional resorts such as the Algarve and the
Costa del Sol, Spain in the summer of 2009 had their
holidays disrupted by the massive shortage of rental
cars caused by the recession in Europe. This article
examines the likelihood that the situation will be
repeated in summer 2010.
If
you were a visitor to Spain or Portugal last summer
you were likely to have been affected by the shortage
of rental cars available at the major resorts. The
lack of available credit throughout Europe forced
rental companies to cut back the size of their fleets,
and demand simply outweighed supply. Many people turning
up at the airports in the Costa del Sol and the Algarve
discovered that there were no rental cars available.
Matt
May from Blue Valley Car Hire who provide car hire
in Faro Portugal explains “last summer during
the holiday period it was a nightmare for many tourists
trying to book a rental car in the Algarve. People
who left booking until the last minute were lucky
if they got a car, and if they did the prices were
at least double the normal rates. The local rental
companies simply did not have the cars available,
and were having to pay astronomical prices to hire
in cars at the last minute. The poor English summer
weather made the situation worse with a lot of last
minute holidaymakers heading for the sun”.
Matt
continues “we are anticipating a similar car
shortage in 2010, so we recommend that people book
early. The situation in Spain was very frustrating
for tourists hoping to rent a car at Malaga Airport
at the last minute, prices had as much as trebled
in some cases. We anticipate a similar situation this
summer. By booking early you will guarantee that a
car is reserved in your name, and avoid having to
pay the higher prices at the airport”
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