Car hire prices soaring in Spain

The predicted shortage of cars available to rent in Spain this summer has sent prices soaring up for tourists, if they can get hold of one that is.

Many of the popular tourist resorts like Alicante and Malaga have seen car rental agents in the area reduce their fleet size because of the cost of having so many vehicles that are not used during the quieter seasons. The recent May Bank Holidays saw demand far out see the quantity of cars available and this month is expected to be no different with many rental agents booked out until well into September.

The lack of visitors in the winter months just from the UK were down by 18 per cent, Britain has the most flights to the country from any European state. This led to many car hire companies reducing their stock in accordance with what was viable. However in the peak months of July and August they fall short in supply of cars. To assist in making up lost revenue some agents have had to increase prices to keep operating successfully.

Some car hire prices in the areas have rocketed by up to 50 per cent, further increasing the cost of an average holiday. However if travellers opt for Portugal they will find that prices have not changed much and in other European countries they have only increased modestly.

Thanks to www.guardian.co.uk for the above article, for more details on this story please visit their website.