It´s hard to believe that exactly one year ago this week – on 28th November 2013, the first symbolic stone was laid for the new Benidorm casino! I doubt that anyone believed for a minute that it would be ready and open 7 months later, especially with the reputation of Spanish builders and their lax attitude.
But credit where its due, the casino was ready and officially opened on the last day of July. I think that it has certainly been an asset to the resort – for a start they are employing local residents and it definitely looks better than an empty derelict plot along the Avd Mediterraneo. But despite the booming tourist economy, it is perhaps somewhat surprising to hear that a study by Fedea – Foundation for Applied Economic Studies has declared that 55% - over half of the residents of Benidorm survive on low income.
However paradoxically, a few kilometres down the road, the town of El Campello is officially (according to tax declarations) the richest town, with an average income of 23,471€ per year. This breaks down to 1805€ per month before tax/social security contributions, which considering that El Campello is the most affluent earning wise doesn´t leave a lot of hope for the rest of us! There is a big black economy here, especially in the tourism and construction sector and a lot of seasonal work with no guaranteed contracts, making it a very insecure future for many. The Spanish tend to rely heavily on extended family – grandparents will often take and collect the children from school while the parents go to work.
Considering that income is so low I can never fail to be amazed at how much the Spanish will spend on lottery tickets. The annual El Gordo frenzy is already in full swing, with queues winding down the street of "lucky" lottery outlets – those that have over the last few years sold one of the winning tickets. El Gordo is the worlds biggest lottery and stats show that 1 in 3 tickets win something. At 20€ for a decimo (portion of a ticket) I see pensioners walking out with wads, kissing the tickets before tucking them safely into their pockets.
The average pension in the Alicante province is 761€ (ap 620GBP) whereas nationally it is 875€. But according to Fedea, Benidorm contains a great inequality in personal income v expenditure, which they put down to two main reasons. Firstly above average rent on property and secondly, a high concentration of wealthy Europeans with a large disposable income, who choose the town to retire in. Perhaps they are the ones who will be splashing out 200,000€ plus for a 1 bed/1 bath apartment in the gold clad InTempo towers.
But you don´t need to be a millionaire to eat and drink in Benidorm – which is probably why it attracts so many Brits, especially over the long cold Winter months. A coffee for 1€ is the norm - certainly beats Starbucks prices. Yesterday the temperatures here were in the low 20´s and there were even people swimming in the sea – amazing considering there are only 4 weeks till Christmas.
That´s not to say it doesn´t get cold here too – even a few kilometres inland people are already burning their fires. I am always amazed that visitors are astounded to learn we have central heating in our homes – they obviously take the phrase "living in the sun" literally. Those that spend time here over the Winter months know, as soon as the sun goes down there is a positive chill and cardi´s are required!
Me – I can´t even begin to think about pensions and whether there will even be one by the time I get to retirement age. My solution.... join the El Gordo queue with all the other hopeful locals!
