Substantially more holidaymakers flying into a new airport close to an established tourist destination will normally mean a boost in tourism - but when the established airport is nearly three hours away and the new one fifteen minutes it's almost bound to see a higher than normal increase in tourism.
And that's exactly what is happening to Andorra, the tiny tax haven set in the European Pyrenees, and home to some of the best ski runs in Europe.
Up to now a drawback that Andorra has had is the distance from a major airport, two and a half hours drive to Barcelona in Spain or Toulouse in France, with some ski holidays starting with a night in one of the Barcelona hotels before setting off for Andorra.
But that is set to change with agreement for an aiport to be built just fifteen minutes drive from the Spanish / Andorra border.
As well as the extra ski tourists the new airport will impact Andorra as a tax haven. Andorra and the more famous Monaco are Europe's leading tax havens, with residents enjoying the benefit of no income tax. Property prices in Andorra are less than a third of the price of Monaco's.
Commenting on the new airport, one Andorra estate agent who specialises in Andorra property for sale thinks that the prices of Andorra properties will rise.
'At the moment Monaco has the advantage of being ten minutes away from an international airport by helicopter, while Andorra is over two hours. With that advantage gone we anticipate more people considering a tax haven will consider Andorra, with a resulting appreciation in real estate prices.'
Property in Andorra has risen an average of ten per cent a year in recent years, with three streams of buyers - the local market, buyers for ski holiday homes who are often on a Crystal Ski holiday and like Andorra enough to buy a holiday home, plus those looking for a tax haven.
The airport is to be located in Seu d'Urgell, and the first flights are anticipated to be in 2010 or 2011, with a runway of 4,500 feet - not long enough for some medium range aircraft, and it is likely that most commercial airlines using the airport will be 60 to 80 seaters, plus private jets much favoured by the wealthy who might now consider Andorra as a viable tax haven.
As well as being welcomed by the property business in Andorra, a new airport has been greeted enthusiastically by the skiing industry.
The country has upgraded facilities in recent years, and often competes as a top ski destination in Europe, with well known ski companies like Crystal Ski operating holidays for the British market.
In the last decade the number of tourists for the Andorra ski holiday season has topped ten million visitors a year, and the ski industry is an important part of the country's economy, with the government investing in new infrastructure to help tempt visitors back for skiing for repeat visits.
However last year was the worst season for decades as the snow, which normally falls from end October, didn't arrive until mid March, and the first drop in the number of ski holidays in Andorra being sold by British and other European travel agents dropped from the previous ski season for some years.
The new airport cutting travelling time from the UK, one of the Andorra ski holiday's main markets, could boost the occupancy levels of hotels in Andorra significantly.
'When people are considering a ski holiday in Andorra', comment one travel guide, 'At the moment to reach Soldeu, one of Andorra top ski villages, it's two and a half hours from Barcelona to the capital la Vella, and then another twenty minutes on top of that - nearly a three hour trip after a flight. Cutting down resort arrival time from three to one hour will be enough to influence some people's decision on where to visit.'
Recent investment by the government has reached several million Euros designed to keep the country in line with other European winter destinations, and intended to make Andorra a natural choice for the ski and snowboard fraternity, the addition of an airport close to her border could help ensure that.
2011 can't come soon enough for Andorra and the ski resort of Arinsal.
Andorra has spent millions of Euros upgrading her ski facilities, and millions more improving her infrastructure to cope with the extra tourists, with new luxury hotels opening in recent years in ski resorts such as Soldeu.
But the one thing that ski resort needs, Andorra failed to provide at the peak of the season, mid December to mid March. Snow!
In response the Andorra tourist authorities turned to snow cannons providing a good cover of snow, and in the process nearly emptied the lakes, but for many skiers the artificial snow isn't the same as the naturally falling snow.
The result was conflicting claims from the authorities who claimed a ten to fifteen per cent drop in ski holiday tourists, while some local businesses were saying it was closer to forty per cent. Whichever figure it is is bad news for a country that has invested heavily in the ski holiday market, and who has an economy relying on good tourist numbers.
The tourists who did arrive in Andorra were those brave enough to book a ski holiday in advance of the ski season starting, but based on the last twenty years they had no reason to doubt that Andorra's ski resorts would have good levels of snow.
For those who didn't mind skiing on artificial snow the runs were bliss, with few people on the slopes compared to the normal number during what is normally peak season.
As well as being a top European ski destination, Andorra is a tax haven with no income tax.
Buying a property in Andorra is often seen as a route to residency, which entitles people to live in Andorra and benefit from her tax haven status.
To obtain residency in Andorra, applications need to be submitted in Catalan. A notarised copy of the applicants passport, birth certificate and a certificate of good conduct from the home country are submitted at the same time. According to a local travel guide residency normally takes between three and six months to be approved.
Once residency is granted, residents are supposed to spend six months a year in Andorra, but this isn't policed.
One of the drawbacks for those looking to become a resident in a tax haven when considering Andorra has been that the country has no airport of its own, and is unlikely to have ine future given that it is located in the Pyrenees. The nearest airports are Barcelona and Toulouse.
Recent improvements in the road from Barcelona to Andorra though have cut the travelling time by some thirty minutes to two hours fifteen minutes.
'Given the tax advantages Andorra has', note one Andorra travel guide, 'A two and a quarter hour trip to the nearest international airport could be viewed as a small price to pay for those who will be saving substantial amounts of money in tax. Especially when you consider that their properties could be rising in value quite significantly in the years to come, and for those who like skiing it's a holiday and tax paradise in one.'
Andorra awaits the new ski season with baited breath.
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