From the Daily Mail recently:

It’s the excuse we all needed to indulge in that well-earned break - scientists say holidays can help us live longer.

A new study has linked travel with increased happiness and better health suggesting trips could even be prescribed in the future as a way to beat depression.

The Australian research identified how travel can affect three different elements of happiness, meaning the joy of a holiday extends well beyond those days spent lazing on the beach and could help prolong our lives.

Dr Sebastian Filep, an expert in travel and wellbeing at Victoria University, found that motivations for travel, experiences at the destination and the post-holiday reflection all contributed to the pleasure of a jaunt abroad.

The first caused positive emotions in the traveller, the second gave them a sense of purpose and the third a sense of involvement - all key ingredients of happiness.

The in-depth analysis was undertaken with 60 different travellers and a further 200 backpackers for a chapter in a forthcoming book, Tourists, Tourism and the Good Life.

The results conclude that travelling really does make people happier, which improves our health and helps us live longer.

The full process from booking and organising the break to remembering the trip and looking at holiday snaps helps people feel better about their lives.

‘I see an opportunity for a greater connection between tourism and health where holidays become a more important factor in leading a healthy lifestyle,’ said Dr Filep.

‘We know from studies in the US that experiencing positive emotions reduces the risk for cardiovascular disease, or that optimists live longer than pessimists.

‘So happiness is good for overall physical and mental health and holidays are a good vehicle for experiencing happiness.’

Dr Filep even went as far as to say that: ‘Holidays may possibly lead to people living longer, as holidays make people happy.’

Although he is not advocating prescribing trips over anti-depressants, he did think they could play a part in the treatment of depression.

‘I see holidays as part of the overall treatment for making people happy because we now have research evidence that demonstrates a clear link between holidays and happiness,’ he said.

‘Happiness is the opposite of depression. If thinking about a holiday, going on a holiday and remembering a holiday plays a role in making people happy, than I certainly think prescribing holidays or travel could help beat depression.’

For more details about Lanzarote holidays visit yourlanzarote.net - included is a Lanzarote map

Good news for Majorca comes from Microsoft, who are planning a new ‘Centre of Innovation’ on the island.

Microsoft currently runs technology centres in over 20 locations worldwide. Microsoft technology Centres for Innovation have been launched in an effort to provide technological solutions and market expertise.

The company has centres devoted to specific areas such as law enforcement, financial services, real estate, business and other industry sectors. Microsoft refers to these centres as “collaborative environments” where experts come together with business managers to create and implement software systems.

Microsoft has already established a centre in Spain - Manresa, Catalonia in Spain’s northeast corner. This particular centre is dedicated to innovation in productivity.

The second centre will be located in Majorca’s capital Palma. This centre’s focus is on tourism industry technology solutions. It’s an important one not just for Majorca but for Spain since tourism makes up a significant portion of the Spanish Gross Domestic Product.

Majorca holidays are a popular choice for many Europeans.

Maria Garana, the company’s president for Spain, referred to this centre as “a worldwide reference for technological applications in the tourism sector.” Garana notes that the Majorca centre will provide tourism technological solutions for clients all over the world, not just in Spain. This seems fitting, considering that the country itself is a world leader in tourism promotion and generation.

The Centre for Health Innovation in Manresa is the company’s first in the world. Microsoft has always provided health care software technologies. However, the proposed new centre will be the first which will be devoted solely to health care software solutions.

Experts in both industry sectors had suggested possible locations for these centres to be built. Places like Alicante, Benidorm and Elche had been proposed.

No matter where the Centre for Health Innovation eventually ends up, it promises to be a busy one. The Centre will likely be used by clients from all over the world.

Doctors, universities, hospitals and other health care service providers within Spain are excited to anticipate this new resource developing in their own backyard. They will, undoubtedly, be some of the Centre’s most enthusiastic users.

Meanwhile, the newest Centre for Cloud Computing will join the ranks of a number of other such centres worldwide. The company is concurrently developing another Centre for Cloud Computing in Taiwan.

These centres will focus on pay-as-you-go cloud computing services, which can translate into substantial savings over traditional cloud computing models. No word has been issued so far on where the Centre for Cloud Computing will be established in Spain.

It may take a few years to see what the impact of these two new Microsoft centres will have on Spain’s economy. Officials from many of Spain’s industry sectors are excited, though, at what possibilities may open up once these to centres are fully established.

More information about Majorca is available at yourmajorca.net and includes the Majorca weather and a map of Majorca

Quizzed recently about their ideal holiday destination, almost a quarter of British children said they want to go to the United States to visit Disney World. In the Teletext holidays survey of 2,000 five to fifteen year olds, Walt Disney World Florida was the clear winner at 22.65 percent of the total votes.

The second favourite children’s holiday destination, according to the survey, is Spain, including Menorca and Majorca. What if tourists could do both at once? The possibility of visiting a Disney theme park in sunny Spain may one day be more than a dream.

Prior to the 1992 opening of the Disney theme park in Paris, other European locations had been discussed. Spain had been one consideration. Company officials eventually opted for the current Paris location. Spain-Disney talks, however, have continued since that time, according to rumour.

More earnest talks of a Spain Disney theme park began in 2006. The company had been watching other theme park ventures, like Madrid’s Warner Brothers Park to gauge their success. That park, as well as PortAventura in Barcelona, had been fairly successful with growing numbers of annual visitors.

It appeared that the 2006 talks favoured the Costa del Sol region of Spain for a new Disney theme park. To date, however, all talk is still little more than rumour. The company did seem to express in 2006, though, that the possibility of a Spain Disney theme park was a strong one.

Disney or not, Spain remains ever popular with UK tourists, even the youngest ones. The results of the Teletext Holidays survey lists Spain as having received eight percent of the youngster’s votes.

The survey listed the islands of Menorca and Majorca separately from the rest of Spain. Menorca and Majorca were also highly favoured with the youth. Combining the Menorca/Majorca votes with those for Spain, the region received 11.35 percent of the total vote.

The Teletext survey covered more than just the destination aspect of a dream holiday. Respondents were also asked to indicate accommodation preferences. Most five to fifteen preferred the comfort of a hotel over a villa, condominium, tent or camper. Surprising perhaps given that for example the hotels in Majorca can be excellent, and are often children friendly. The majority of children surveyed indicated swimming (both in pools and in lakes/oceans) as a top choice for holiday activities.

Whether a Disney theme park ever becomes a reality in Spain remains to be seen. The rumours are still rampant, despite the fact that nothing official has been put to paper yet.

However, one of the survey’s biggest findings is that the vast majority of the respondents preferred travelling abroad. Domestic holidays were eschewed by many in favour of leaving the country.

Still the United States remains a top destination for UK children. It’s probable that, even should a Spain Disney emerge, Walt Disney World in Florida will always be a favourite. After all, it’s the flagship of the Disney theme parks. It’s still the largest of all the company’s resorts, with multiple theme parks in one destination.

For a map of Majorca and travel news visit yourmajorca.net

Majorca’s leading and successful tourism related companies are expanding internationally, according to the President of Majorca’s Chamber of Commerce, Joan Gual de Torrella. During 2008 the chamber discussed expanding business to Vietnam.

About 200 tourism-related companies currently operating in Majorca are ready to expand internationally. Some businesses include hotel equipment, furniture design, interior decoration, software creation and other tourism-related specialties.

Holidays in Majorca have been Europe’s favourite for some years now, and the island’s tourism experience is something that could be exported worldwide.

Vietnam as a Tourist Destination

The country itself is shaped like an elongated letter “S” and is located on the easternmost coast of the Indochina Peninsula, directly south of China. It is larger than Italy at about 128,066 square miles. The size and unusual shape of the country open many possibilities for tourism to Vietnam. Overall, the country is very mountainous, containing no more than 20 percent level land and 40 percent mountainous. It is divided into 58 provinces and five centrally controlled municipalities.

Hoildays To Vietnam Are Becoming More Popular

The climate in Vietnam varies greatly from area to area. In northern Vietnam from November to April, monsoon winds blow northeast across the Gulf of Tonkin and pick up considerable amounts of moisture. The average temperature in December and January is 41 degrees Fahrenheit, while the temperature in July and August may reach nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature in southern Vietnam doesn’t vary quite as dramatically as the northern or more mountainous zones. A more steady year round temperature of 70 to about 83 degrees Fahrenheit make the southern portion of the country the perfect location for year round tourism. The weather in southern Vietnam is similar to the weather in Majorca some feel.

The Economy in Vietnam

Historically the economy in Vietnam was based on agriculture and wet rice cultivation. Most of the economy was destroyed during the Vietnam War. “Renovation,” the economic reform package introduced by the Sixth Party Congress, achieved about 8 percent GDP growth annually from 1990 to 1997. It became the second fastest growing economy between 2000 and 2005 at around 7 percent per year.

Vietnam’s economic situation has continued to improve over the years, but with an annual GDP of 280.2 billion USD, it is still considered a relatively poor country. The tourism industry in Vietnam is growing at an impressive rate. The introduction of more, already successful, tourism-related companies to the area will only help improve the current economic situation. Many new jobs will be created as new industry is introduced and employees are needed to maintain the standards of service available in other countries.

Tourism in Vietnam is a growing industry with a lot of potential and perhaps can learn from the holidays in Majorca industry.

Vietnam Veterans from around the world have made a point to visit modern day Vietnam. Tours are available for Veterans and their families to help them heal and recover from trauma caused by the Vietnam War. As Vietnam continues to progress and build more tourism-related resorts, tourists will have the opportunity to visit areas that were once war-ravaged. As with all wars, the world has much to learn about post-war rebuilding and the hardships involved. Vietnam has made excellent progress during the years following the war and will continue to prosper in the years ahead the country hopes.