Benidorm is hosting its first outlet fair, located on the square underneath the Town Hall in the Old Town. The 3 day fair started today - Friday 1st November and is on until Sunday 3rd, from 11am until 10pm.

Around 40 local shops and businesses have joined together and are offering discounts of around 50%. A lot of the merchandise is end of season stock so a good opportunity for both retailer and the consumer to benefit.

Particularly busy at the "Base" sports outlet

A similar fair has been held at the port in Alicante very successfully over the last few years and so Benidorm have taken the initiative to follow suit. It was certainly very busy this morning especially as today is a Bank Holiday here in Spain and the weather so glorious and sunny.... in fact, the Levante beach was full of sunbathers (sorry but I had to mention that)!

I spoke to one of the traders and he was delighted with the turnout - the retailers don´t just look at the footfall passing but the number of carrier bags! That means people are spending he told me..... I did look rather puzzled when he talked about carrier bags so then make a point of looking - and he was right!

There was definitely a mix of visitors there - both locals and holiday makers. Pop down for a browse then you can head down to the Old Town and have a spot of lunch in Tapas Alley.

I am sure that it will be repeated again and holding it over a Bank Holiday is a great idea as there are more people about.


Passeo de la Carretera - the walking street that starts at Ale Hop and will take you all the way to Elche Park, was rammed with people. Even the main Avd Mediterraneo was busy as normal - the tobacco shops were also open.