Last night we went along to the Foro first anniversary celebration. To call it a party would be a overstatement and show a lack of understanding about how the Foro operates. Their prime objective is to facilitate get togethers and events and encourage initiatives. They have a very relaxed style, and while that may not suit some, it is the way it is in Spain, so needs to be accepted and accommodated when dealing with them.

It was a little strange not meeting up with Roberto who introduced us to the Foro initially, but as he is on holiday at the moment it was no surprise, and as we are members (if you have a business or want to deal with businesses here in Almerimar I urge you to pay the 10€!!) we knew quite a few people.

We went along with the Long Way Round team as we had arranged to introduce them to some people who were interested in teaming up with them to offer a tour of their vineyard and Paco did his usual trick of keeping my beer glass full. In fact he exceeded himself last night as every time he walked past he dropped off 4 beers for Kris and I. Sands and Big Chris where more than happy with the bottles of red wine at their disposal, but Maria and Emma kept wandering over to La Bahia to get a vodka and coke as the only options offered were Beer and Wine. As for food; huge amount of filled rolls, cheese and crisps, which made for a perfect celebration for me - beer, crisps, sandwiches!!!

I was a little surprised towards the end of the evening, after the speeches but before the music, to be asked if I would give my thoughts and views in a couple of weeks time on what I felt businesses should be doing differently.

I said I was happy to do that, so today have been making a few notes, which I thought I would share with you:

First up, as the title of the post suggests, I think it is time to consider and embrace change. I am the biggest fan of the Spanish culture and tradition, and in no way do I think that they should remove, reduce or dilute that, but I do think they need to start thinking differently.

Being blunt I think that they are still very much in the mind set of ‘this is how we do it in Spain’ and are trapped in the seasonal mentality of a tourist destination.

The two obvious issues with this are a) there are a lot of non Spaniards here now that have money to spend and b) Almerimar is not, nor will it be for a long time, a key tourist attraction.

I think people need to open their eyes to what is in front of them and accept the challenges that they provide, not kid themselves that all will be OK and that they just need to hang in for a while longer.

Let’s look at the facts:

• The lack of hotels has destroyed the traditional tourist business and it will take years to rebuild
• There are less flights into Almeria than before, and it will take a lot to convince the airlines to pay for the routes again
• The world wide recession means that less people are going on holiday
• The credit crunch means that those on fixed incomes i.e. pensions etc have even less to live on
• Even the ‘residential tourists’ are eating out less and buying more from the supermarkets

In my experience to much time is spent bemoaning the changes and debating why they have happened. For me businesses need to accept and recognise that there are lot of people here who want and need them to succeed, so maybe it is time to change the approach?

For example ….

In all the time I have been here not one bar or restaurant has ever offered a survey to give me the chance to explain what I would like from them and what I would be willing to pay for. When you have a new market to serve (and with the influx of non Spanish residents over the years that is certainly the case) there is no way that you know that market. The approach of ‘business as usual’ isn’t working. Take the ‘typical’ retired pensioner. All their life they have probably had their main meal at 6-7pm in the evening. Now if they want to continue doing that (and habits are hard to break and can cause discomfort i.e. why bother when you are meant to be enjoying the later years of your life) they are limited to the restaurants and food they can choose. Now of course there is a classic ’stand off’ building - why should a bar or restaurant change its habits when the customers wont? Well simple really - the customers have the money that the businesses need!! Maybe a compromise can be created? By getting together and being creative maybe a few of the Spanish restaurants could offer a ‘early bird’ (horrible American phrase that it is) club whereby people can get a limited menu early in the evening - maybe offer a Menu del Dia at lunch and in between 6 and 8 on certain days.

Loyalty schemes, business men and women clubs/discounts, collaborations on buying power or cross promotion - how about a Spanish restaurant providing some Tapas for an English bar to offer by way of introducing potential new customers to its food?

It is not my intention in this post to provide the answers - after all that is what I have done for a living for years! I would be more than happy to work with any business wanting to try new initiatives, and the site is a vehicle for all to try.

What I hope this post has achieved, and what I will be stressing in my ‘presentation’, is that it is time to change and that change isn’t bad and doesn’t mean discarding the past!

About Almerimar

Almerimar is located in the region of Andalucia, Spain. The nearest airport is 30km away in Almeria. Other airports that are within 3 hours include Malaga, Murcia, Granada, and Alicanti. Other holiday resorts in the region include Mojacar , Aguadulce and Roquetas de Mar

Almerimar is also one of the largest marinas in Spain with over 2,000 births and excellent boatyard facilities.