2007 Holiday Boost For Minorca From The Yachting World

Spanish island Minorca has long been regarded as the quietest of the three islands that make up the Spanish Balearics, but the holiday isle, much favoured by British and other European tourists, is set to steal the limelight for a while at least with the King's Cup for Classic Yachts.

The sailing regatta is due to be held in the Port of Mahon - Mahon is the capital of Minorca - ideally suited for sailing and one of the world's best known deep water harbours.

The harbour is often a port of call for cruise ships touring the Mediterranean.

The Classic Yachts Weekend includes three different classes of boat. Vintage yachts, which were launched before 1949, Claasic Yachts that were built before 1975, and at the organisers' discretion Spirit of Tradition Yachts.

The timing of the weekend is good for Minorca. Visitor numbers have been down in recent years, and in an attempt to lengthen the season and make up numbers the island is trying to extend her normal peak times from May to September to April through October.

It has also seen the success of similar yacht events in neighbouring Majorca.

This summer's SuperYacht Cup off Majorca will be the most competitive for the yachts since the event began ten years ago.

With 40 entries so far, and another 20 possibles by the time the yachting weekend comes along, will ensure races to remember both for the yacht crews and spectactors, with plenty of social events organised for the evenings.

The organisers have appointed a Race Officer for this year's event, to move the image from one of fun and socialisng, to that of a serious yacht competition, with the social side as active as ever.

The new officer has experience of helping to organise regattas in Cowes, on the UK's Isle of Wight, one of the most famous locations in the yachting world, has sailing experience himself and brings to the Mallorca Supercup a drive and level of experience necessary to meet the organisers ambitions. Minorca might need a person of similar calibre to promote her own events.

As part of the Balearic Islands, Majorca has welcomed many visitors back to live full time on the island. Minorca property has proved popular too, for those looking for a gentler pace of life than big sister Mallorca.

Property prices in Mallorca are similar to Minorca property, with a range of apartments and villas in both rural and town locations, and with twenty golf courses plenty of golf course developments too on Mallorca.

Minorca has just the one golf course, recently extended to eighteen holes, and is located in Son Park, which has a choice of hotels, apartments and villas for holiday makers.

The cost of flying to Majorca has come down in recent years from most European countries due to low cost airlines, especially in the island's core tourist areas of the United Kingdom and Germany, and last year easyJet started direct flights from London's Gatwick Airport to the sister island of Minorca, as well as serving Majorca itself.

Despite competition from other destinations, Majorca looks set to remain a favourite holiday spot for some time to come, and Minorca will hope that some of her success is passed onto her sister island in the Balearic Islands and other holiday areas of Spain.

Details of villa holidays including those from Meon villas plus photographs and flight inclusive villa holidays with James villas are provided as part of the holidays guide.