Over 45 million tourists visit Spain each year, making it one of the most three most visited countries in the world. To travel to Spain is to experience sun, superb food, hospitality and joie de vivre, and yet it is also to discover the country's rich heritage of monuments and sights.
The imprint of different civilizations that once made it their home, or to journey through its singular and breathtaking countryside and delight in the stunning, starkly contrasting scenery, study the customs of its peoples and towns, and share in their local fiestas and traditions.
To travel to Spain is to opt for diversity, to be the central character in what is sure to be a truly unforgettable trip, this is what makes Spain a prized destination worldwide, and why the vast majority of those who visit it once, return ... in order to share in the enjoyment of a climate, countryside and culture which embody a rather special way of life.
Spain straddles the greater part of the Iberian Peninsula that juts out at the southwestern tip of Europe. With a surface area of 505,955 sq kms, it ranks as the third largest country in continental Europe, after Russia and France. Most of this surface area (493,484 sq km) consists of mainland Spain, to which must be added the island groups of the Balearies to the east (4,992 sq km) and the Canaries (7,447 sq km), lying over 1,000 kms to the south, just off North Africa's Atlantic coast. Lastly, there are the two city enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, perched on the shores of North Africa itself.
Seen within a European context, the position of the Iberian Peninsula gives in a certain closeness to Africa, from which it is separated by a mere 14 kms, and -- on the Atlantic side -- to America, thus leading it a special strategic value.
This explains why it has been such a crucial crossroads in the history of cultures and civilizations. Spain is therefore an integral part both of the southern European mainland and, in a somewhat special way, of the Mediterranean world.
With 40 million inhabitants, Spain has an average population density of around 80 inhabitants per sq km, a figure under the EU mean. The uneven distribution of the population has created an imbalance between regions, which register different and widely contrasting density levels.
Major cities excepted, there is a growing trend towards concentration along the coastal strip and depopulation of inland areas, as a consequence of the twin processes of industrialization and urbanization.
The best developed sea-and-sun tourists areas are Andalusia, Murcia, the Valencian Regiona and Catalonia, which are endowed with a wide range of top-quality facilities, while other regions of Inland Spain, such as Aragon, Castile and Leon, Castile-La Mancha and Extremadura, hold out the promise of historic cities -- many of which are officially designated World Heritage sites -- artistic and monumental treasures, delicious food and settings of great natural beauty.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday that China using armed force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, allowing the country to mobilize the Japanese armed forces under its security laws. Takaichi made the remarks during a parliamentary session yesterday while responding to a question about whether a "Taiwan contingency" involving a Chinese naval blockade would qualify as a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, according to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. "If warships are used and other armed actions are involved, I believe this could constitute a survival- threatening
RSS