What Were The Political, Economic, And Social Circumstances That Led Essay

What Were The Political, Economic, And Social Circumstances That Led To The Holocaust - Essay Example However, the Jews were not the only victims of Nazism. It is estimated that as many as 15 million civilians were killed by the Nazi regime, including millions of Slavs and 'asiatics', 200,000 Gypsies and members of various other groups. Furthermore, thousands of people, including Germans of African descent, were forcibly sterilized.1 The word holocaust originally derived from the Greek word holokauston, meaning "a completely (holos) burnt (kaustos) sacrificial offering", or "a burnt sacrifice offered to God". In Greek and Roman pagan rites, gods of the earth and underworld received dark animals, which were offered by night and burnt in full. Holocaust was later used to refer to a sacrifice Jews were required to make by the Torah.2 Initially, the Nazis used killing squads, the Einsatzgruppen to conduct huge open-air killings, in some instances murdering as many as 33,000 people or more in a single day, as in the case of Babi Yar. However, by 1942, the Nazi leadership decided to implement the Final Solution, the genocide of all Jews in Europe, and increase the pace of the Holocaust. While concentration camps and labor camps to contain political enemies had existed since soon after the Nazis came to power in 1933, the Nazi leadership built six extermination camps, including Treblinka and Auschwitz, specifically to kill Jews. Millions of Jews who had been confined to diseased and massively overcrowded Ghettos were transported to the "Death-camps" where they were either gassed or shot, usually immediately after they disembarked from trains.3 As the war started, massive massacres of Jews took place, and, by December 1941, Hitler decided to completely exterminate European Jews. In January 1942, during the Wannsee conference, several Nazi leaders discussed the details of the "Final Solution of the Jewish question" (Endlsung der Judenfrage). Dr. Josef Bhler urged Reinhard Heydrich to proceed with the Final Solution in the General Government. They began to purposely deport Jewish from the ghettos and all occupied territories to the seven camps designated as Vernichtungslager, or extermination camps: Auschwitz, Belzec, Chelmno, Majdanek, Maly Trostenets, Sobibr and Treblinka II. Sebastian Haffner published the analysis in 1978 that Hitler from December 1941 accepted the failure of his goal to dominate Europe forever on his declaration of war against the United States, but that his withdrawal and imminent calm thereafter was sustained by the attainment of Hitler's second goal-the annihilation of the Jews.4 The execution of the Final Solution resulted in the most deadly phase of the Holocaust. However, mass killings of over one million Jews had already begun before the plans of the Final Solution were fully implemented in 1942, but it was only with the decision to eradicate the entire Jewish population that the extermination camps were built and industrialized mass slaughter of Jews began in earnest. This decision to systematically kill the Jews of Europe was made by the time of, or at the Wannsee conference, which took place in Berlin, in the Wannsee Villa on January 20, 1942.5 In addition to the Jews, the Roma and Sinti were also targets of the Holocaust which resulted in about 220,000 deaths in the Holocaust (some estimates are as high as 800,000), between a quarter and a half of the European population. Other groups deemed "undesirable", especially Poles, Soviet military prisoners of war including Russians and other Slavs, the mentally or physically disabled, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Communists and political dissidents and criminals, were also persecuted and murdered.

Financial Sector in GCC Countries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Financial Sector in GCC Countries - Essay Example Nonetheless, current events indicate increasing cooperation among GCC countries on particular trade matters such as customs duties, quality standards, cross-member investment, and intellectual property right protection (USTR 179). An agreement for free trade among the six member countries in 1983 was one of the early achievements of the Gulf Cooperation Council. All of the six member countries were signatories to the United Economic Agreement which provides duty free access to all products manufactured in GCC member countries with compliance to existent origin and ownership laws (Al-Muharrami et.al. 5). With the aim of achieving goals for greater economic integration, member states agreed in 1999 to set external tariffs to a common range by 2005. In January 2003 the six GCC member states put up a Customs Union which in theory implies that member states are to adopt integrated customs laws and regulations, one point-of-entry, with open internal exchange of products and classification of products as national origin inside the GCC. Tariff application, income allocation and quality standards are some of the unresolved issues related to the bylaws of the Customs Union. The council was set to agree in 2005 on convergence criteria for adoption of a single currency in 2010 (USTR 179). Bahrain is one of the most diverse and active financial centers in the Gulf. Much of the financial sector's growth can be credited to the oil boom of the 1970s and the replacement of Beirut as a major banking hub during the 1980s. The financial sector is presently the biggest contributor to GDP at 27.6 per cent. Around 370 offshore banks and representative branches are established in Bahrain (IMF Country Report). . The Bahraini government is planning to draw more foreign banks to the area and is anticipating eliminating impending competition from Dubai and a return of Beirut. The government is assessing the structure that polices commercial banking sector of Bahrain in line with the above objectives. The government implemented new, fortified policies for the insurance sector in 2001 (USTR 33). The Bahrain Stock Exchange (BSE) started operation in 1989 with two responsibilities: playing as a securities controller with management of the capital market and functioning as a securities exchange. Foreign businessmen will be permitted to own 100 percent of listed banks within three years. The BSE has also introduced several information facilities to disseminate real-time values for all listed in real time through satellite TV (IMF Country Report). In July of 2000, the Ahli United Bank (AUB) was established by Bahrain's Al-Ahli Commercial Bank (ACB) and United Kingdom's United Bank of Kuwait (UBK) as an offshore banking unit. Trading began in August 2000 of shares of the AUB. The bank has a capital of $323.5 million which symbolizes an important development in the future of financial sectors in the region (USTR 33). Finance and Banking in Kuwait Kuwait has benefited from considerable budgetary surpluses starting from 1999. The budgetary surplus has risen to 40 per cent of GDP in 2005 and is projected to be in the rate of 43 per cent of GDP in 2006. This has been brought about by remarkably higher oil prices coupled with larger

The Lady Eve review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Lady Eve review - Essay Example In this film, Rowans father is willing to do anything for his sick son. He is seen traveling a long journey to seek treatment for his son who was discovered with Autism disease. The father has played a parenting role as he overcomes all the challenges along the way without giving up. A society has a power to determine how children grow and their future character. It is imperative for parents to give and offer the right morals and guidance to their children for better molding in a society. One of the major differences between Ai Wei-Wei and Banksy is that Ai Wei-Wei used graffiti art while Bankysy used street art. Bankysy was a filmmaker who used art to deliver his message. He was voted as one of the most influential persons in the world. He is put in the same category with the alike of Obama and lady gaga. He mainly displaces his art on publically visible places such as walls. On the other hand, Wei-Wei was a filmmaker and activist in China. His use of art was considered as destructive. He uses Scarecrow to deliver his message in the street of China. Art is a variety of human activities and the resulting product of those activities that usually involve technical and imaginative skills. These activities include criticism of work, work of art production, the study of art, and dissemination of art. Art focuses on the production of visual art that includes the creation of object or image, painting, printmaking, and photography. Art can be mainly be used for educating a s ociety. One of the place where you can display art include on public streets and roads. A good example where you can use art is when you want to challenge a governments decision to ignore public opinion. One can decide to use art to educate people about the serious consequences of the governments choice of action or decision. Art is very effective way of communication and educating a society. The book of Kells is sometimes known as

Peer review assesment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Peer review assesment - Assignment Example A high quality product is a product that has been proven to retain its high quality product status for years (Cinzkota, 2007). Second, Sony Corporation focuses on selling the company’s products at reasonable prices. The strong demand for the Sony products indicate the products are sold at reasonable prices. People would normally shy away from products that are normally overpriced. A high demand for the product indicates that the average person has no objections to the current prevailing prices of the Sony products and services. Third, Sony Corporation sells its products in stores that are strategically located. Sony Corporation has retail outlets in all the countries located in American, European Union, and Asian. Each major city of the Asian, American, and European nation sells the Sony Corporation products. The customers can easily buy a Sony Corporation product by visiting the Sony Corporation retail stores within the customer’s reach. Fourth, Sony Corporation alloca tes a large budget for the promotion and advertising of the Sony Corporation products and services. The company does not spare a significant amount of money when it comes to advertising the many advantages of the Sony Corporation products and services. Advertising involves money. Advertising involves time budget. ... By selling only high quality products, a strong relationship between the current and prospective customers and Sony Corporation crop up. By selling the Sony Corporation products at reasonable prices, a strong marketing relationship between the current and prospective customers and Sony Corporation can be seen. By selling the Sony Corporation products in strategically located retail outlets, more relationships are created between the current and prospective customers and Sony Corporation. By advertising the many benefits of choosing the Sony Corporation brand over the competitors, a strong relationship between the current and prospective customers and the Sony Corporation products is crystal clear (McDonald, 2007). Both blogs show that Sony Corporation constructs integrated marketing programs that deliver superior quality. Setting up retail outlets in the United States, European Union member states, and Asia indicate the company is implementing a profitable marketing strategy. By sell ing only high quality products and services, the company is on the right track in implementing a profitable marketing program. By advertising the many benefits of buying a Sony Corporation product, Sony Corporation’s marketing strategy process is viable. By selling only high quality products, Sony Corporation’s current marketing strategy will rake in very high net profits. Both blogs show that the current Sony Corporation marketing strategy is geared towards designing of a customer driven marketing strategy (Czinkota, 1998). Selling at reasonable prices is a customer driven marketing strategy. Sony Corporation focuses on selling the Sony Corporation products at a price that the customers are willing to pay. Sony Corporation can sell the

Justification for an Internal Control System Essay - 1

Justification for an Internal Control System - Essay Example have become crucial risks factors that have resulted in huge economic loss for its shareholders as well adversely affecting its credibility in the market. Another factor is that the increasing dynamic business environment and the volatility in the market have greatly increased the risks to the interests of the stakeholders. Risks have been defined as ‘the possibility of loss as a result of the combination of uncertainty and exposure flowing from an investment decision or a commitment’ (Boritz, 1990). All the factors and element of governance, that adversely affect and dilute the rights of the shareholders and other stakeholders of the organization, are risks that need to be addressed urgently. Hence, effective internal control system has become the need of the hour. The current approach is valid because the insurance and portfolio approach is partially equity linked and relies on the dynamic allocation of portfolio such that the stakeholders are protected by guarantee of minimum wealth at a specified time period (Basak, 2002). Though the current approach helps safeguard assets, the highly competitive nature of emerging new models of global business has increased the risks and responsibilities of the organizations. The existing system also lacks transparency that not only corrodes the trust of the investors but it also has long term repercussion on market credibility and performance outcome. The global financial crisis and recessive trends require more control mechanisms to meet the challenges of the changing paradigms of the global business that have considerable impact on the confidence building processes of the capital market. The new system of internal control is designed to boost the confidence of the investors and improve market credibility and performance outcome. The internal controls of the company are various inter-related processes within its different departments which facilitate smooth operation, conforming to the

Role of the Craftsmen Essay Example for Free

Role of the Craftsmen Essay Bottom and his fellow craftsmen are bubbly, animated and optimistic to a fault. With their amiable exuberance and whole-hearted cheerfulness, they are often seen as the most likeable characters in A Midsummer Nights Dream. In terms of function, their presence serves to create humour and act as a foil to the upper echelons of Athenian society. With their play-within a play, Shakespeare also creates a parody of youthful impassioned love and a sturdy reminder of reality amidst all the magic and chaos in the forest. Bottom and his fellow craftsmen with their good-humoured disposition create humour through their amusing malapropisms and unsophisticated poetry. For instance the craftsmen often use words out of context to hilarious results, like when Flute as Thisbe calls Pyramus Jew when he probably meant jewel. To fully understand the humour here, one must realize that in Shakespearean times, Jews were widely loathed and thus would be the opposite of jewel, thereby thoroughly tickling an Elizabethan audience. Another example of this is when Bottom as Pyramus mistakenly asks Thisbe to meet him at Ninnys instead of Ninus Tomb. Here, a ninny refers to an imbecile, whereas Ninus refers to the legendary founder of Nineveh. Shakespeares audience would very likely have been able to pick this up and see the humour in it. On top of this, in Quinces script, there appears to be a lot of forced rhyme, which in contrast to lilting verses of the fairies is quite brusquely funny. For example, Jew is used in a desperate attempt to rhyme with hue, likewise with brier and tire. Thus part of the comedy the craftsmen create lies in the very crudely constructed poetry. Another way through which the Craftsmen create humour is through their pathetic attempts to perfect the play, which often seem to have the reverse effect. Firstly, even the title of their play is laughable: The Most Lamentable Comedy and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe. It is in itself an oxymoron and paradoxical, and reflect the craftsmens efforts (Quince in particular) to sound profound, which backfire because it sounds so nonsensical thereby amusing to the audience. The craftsmens fear that the ladies might be afeared by the lion and would not be able to abide seeing Pyramus draw a sword to kill himself. Their baseless confidence that their acting would be so real that the ladies would fear conflicts with what the audience sees them as- bumbling craftsmen. This not only reveals their dimwittedness, which is undoubtedly funny, but also and honesty which endears them to the audience. The craftsmen also amplify the audiences understanding of the different classes in Athens. In terms of language, the craftsmen adopt a more unrefined diction similar to prose, as compared to the more polished iambic pentameter that the Athenians use. Compare for instance Thrice-blessed they that master their blood that Theseus says, and Bottoms more convoluted And yet, to say the truth, reason and company keep little company together nowadays. Theseus line has a more distinct rhythm, whereas Bottoms seem s to be just prose. Though both lines contain equally important messages, there is symbolism in Theseus words, for when he says blood he actually means passions. On the other hand Bottom makes his statement plainly without embellishment. This in turn also reflects how the Craftsmen, live plainly whereas the nobles such as Theseus live in excess, even having a manager of mirth to ease the anguish of a torturing hour. Thus through the craftsmen, Shakespeare creates a more holistic society that not only comprises of the rich nobles, but the normal laymen which the Bottom and his comrades represent. Furthermore, Shakespeare uses the craftsmen and their play to create a parody of the romantic love seen in the earlier part of the play. The craftsmens play tells the story of Pyramus and Thisbe, which is not so dissimilar from what the four Athenian lovers face in the woods. Like Lysander and Hermia, Pyramus and Thisbe too face parental disapproval, and their decision to meet by Ninus tomb at night, mirrors Hermia and Lysanders decision to meet in the wood a league without the town. Hence it is easy for the audience to make the link between Pyramus and Thisbe and Lysander and Hermias stories. The parody is most evident when Bottom and Thisbe begin exaggerated dramatizations of their love. For instance the incessant repetition of O, O grim-looked night, O night with hue so black, O night O night, O night. This is very reminiscent of Hermia and Lysanders conversation O cross! O spite! O hell! . Because the craftsmen are such poor actors, their profession of love becomes hilarious, and through this, Shakespeare pokes fun at the young lovers for their tendency to exaggerate things and be overly dramatic. Also, Bottom and the other craftsmen also act as crucial reminder of reality in the entire play. With much of the play centred around the romantic entanglements of the young Athenians and fairy king and queen Oberon and Titania, it would be easy for the audience to get lost in the fluff of love and passion. The craftsmen though, bring to the play more mundane issues that everyone faces in daily life such as bread and butter concerns. This is for example seen when Bottom went missing, Flute was worried he would not be able to get his sixpence a day for playing Pyramus. When we are first introduced to the craftsmen, their name are accompanied with their job positions, like Nick Bottom, the weaver, placing emphasis again on more realistic and relevant issues like ones occupation. Through small examples like these, Shakespeare subtly hints that love, for all its glamour and passions, in reality is not enough to sustain oneself. Furthermore, the craftsmen see no major conflict in the play, even Bottom sees his encounter with Titania as a dream, and nothing of malicious intent. All this seems also to suggest that Shakespeare is implying that by living life simply like the mechanicals, conflict can be averted. Another way the craftsmen are a reminder of reality is seen through their play-within-a-play. As mentioned earlier, the play-within-a-play closely parallels the situations the Athenian youths faced in the woods. However, the ending of Pyramus and Thisbe was tragic, Pyramus stabbing himself with bloody blameful blade and Thisbe committing suicide likewise. This serves to remind the audience that even though Lysander and Hermia as well as Demetrius and Helena end up eternally knit, consummating their love, it could well have been a tragic ending for the four, with the two men intent on dueling each other in the woods. Hence Shakespeare uses the craftsmen to warn the young lovers, like the Athenians, in the audience not to take happy endings for granted, but instead to be prepared for worse by being grounded in reality like the craftsmen. In conclusion, the craftsmen are very significant to the play as they give it a more holistic feel, encompassing not only the rich nobles but also the middle class workers whom the craftsmen represent. Furthermore, since A Midsummer Nights Dream is a comedy, the craftsmens contribution to the humour of the play is also very important. Shakespeare also uses the craftsmen and their play to poke fun at the young lovers for their misprised moods, as well as to warn the audience not to take happy endings for granted. Overall, the irrepressible craftsmen bring laughter, lessons and more laughter to A Midsummer Nights Dream.

The Tourism Industry In Spain

The Tourism Industry In Spain Spain developed its tourism during the last years of dictators Franco governance, when the country became a popular place for summer holidays, especially for tourists from Northern Europe (UK, France, Germany and Scandinavia). It is said that mass tourism started that time because Francos government needed money and dedided to open up its coasts for tourism. . At that time, Mallorca, Costa del Sol and all multi-storey buildings on the coast were built. Murcia and Almeria were not built because there did not have a good network. This was what protected them. However, in the minds of the locals this was the cause of their poverty (Barke et al. 1996:120). Since then, Spain has become the second the most visited country in the world (the first one is France). 60 million foreign tourists arrived in Spain in 2007, according to the data provided by the World Tourism Organization (2007), that its offices are in Madrid. The cost of tourism in Spain is over $ 46 billion per year, the highest tourism expenditure worldwide except for U.S. that has tourism expenditure of $ 74 billion (Sinclair et al. 2008:75). Summer resorts and beaches This form of tourism was the first that was developed in Spain, and today is the one that has received more income grants and subsidies form the state economy. The nice and warm climate during the whole year and the long beaches on the Mediterranean and South Atlantic, as well as Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands have been visited by tourists from northern Europe for decades. These summer resorts are popular among Spaniards as well. The Spanish coasts that suitable for summer holidays include: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Costa Dorada, Costa Brava and del Maresme, located in Catalonia, which are very popular for local and French tourists, including the popular resorts like Salou and the city of Barcelona which is also the largest port in Spain. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Costa del Azahar, whose main city is Valencia and Costa Blanca, (one of the most developed Spanish coastal regions, extremely popular for tourists from Great Britain and Germany, having Benidorm as the main summer city of Spain. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Costa Calida. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The side de Almerà ­a, the tropical side, Costa del Sol and Costa de la Luz, all of them are found in Andalucà ­a. Some of its summer resorts are famous all over the world, like Marbella, a tourist resort for tourists with important spending capacity. Finally, one of the largest Spanish ports, is Malaga (Fsadni and Selwyn 1997:66). The volcanic Canary Islands in the Atlantic, and the Balearic Islands are two famous Spanish archipelagos. Many Spaniards and foreigners visit them because they are very popular. Apart from the summer tourism, there are other forms of tourism such as cultural, sport or fun tourism. Two cities, Barcelona and Valencia (the two largest ports in the Mediterranean side of Spain) are among them. Tourism of the beaches (Beach Tourism) has also contributed to the development of nightlife, as well as to the Spanish excellent food culture. Important from the ecological and natural aspect are many places both coastal and island Theme and water-fun parks like Port Aventura are also popular among the local population and foreigners (Eden 1996:48). Long ago it became known in Europe Senior Tourism program that allows people over 55 to enjoy a holiday social tourism in Spain with low cost. The program subsidizes the EU holiday in the Balearic Islands and Andalusia in periods of low tourist traffic from October 2009 until April 2010. The indicative costs where the agency is about 400 euros for 8 days 4stars at selected hotels with full board, tickets, tours, and more. Tourist Packages in Spain are part of the program Calypso approved by Parliament with a budget of 1 million euros and refers to the promotion of social tourism with the participation of Member States. Cultural and business tourism Spain is a country full of culture and therefore, it is a popular destination for cultural tourism due to its historical importance, including cities like Seville, Granada, Cà ³rdoba and Toledo. UNESCO has declared the following Spanish cities as World Heritage Cities: Alcalà ¡ de Henares, à vila, Cà ¡ceres, Cà ³rdoba, Cuenca, Ibiza, Salamanca, La Laguna SAN Cristà ³bal de, Santiago de Compostela, Segovia, Tarragona and Toledo (Maiztegui-Onate 1996:84). Madrid and Barcelona (two big Spanish metropolis) are famous historical places and are also part of cultural tourism. In addition, there are other important places in Spain with cultural importance are: Coruà ±a and Vigo, in Galicia, Santander Cantabria, Oviedo and Gijà ³n Asturias, Bilbao and San Sebastià ¡n in the Basque country. North Spain has such a green landscape that resembles to the UKs and Ireland landscape and this is why it is Green Spain. They have many important folklore, nature and culinary aspects and they are even suitable for summer vacations despite the fact that the beaches of North Spain are colder than the Mediterranean ones. Spain is also an important place for religion, mainly Judaism and Christianity.The city of Santiago de Compostela Galicia (northwest Spain) are holly places. This city is the third holiest place in the christian world after the Vatican City of Rome and Jerusalem. The fourth holiest place is Camino de Santiago followed by the sanctuary Caravaca de la Cruz in the southeast area. These places attract tourism from all over the world (Robinson 1996:210). The many celebrations and festivals in Spain. A very famous one is the Holy Week in cities like Seville and Carthage. Very popular also is the Seville Exhibition or Feria de Abril in Spanish, the celebrations of Spring (Fiestas de Primavera) which include the famous Entierro de la Sardina (Burial of the sardine) and La Huerta EL Bando de (the area of the orchard) This festival attracts crowds from both inside and outside Spain. There are also the festivals Carthaginians and Romans of Carthage, the festival of San Fermin of Pamplona famous worldwide, the Fiestas del Pilar in Zaragoza etc. The celebrations in small towns are also very popular. Spain has a lot of cultural festivals, including the Carnival all over Spain, but particularly the festivals of the Canary Islands and Cadiz. San Sebastian, Malaga and Sitges have famous film festivals. The Lorca Rock, FIB, Festimad, and Primavera sound are some indicative music festivals. Several cities have hosted international events:Catholic exhibition in 1888 and 1929 in Barcelona, the Olympics of 1992, also in Barcelona, the catholic exhibition of 1992 in Seville, the 2008 world exhibition in Zaragoza and the Americas Cup in Valencia (Selwyn 1997:93). The Europe Senior Tourism program is another tourist attraction source of Spain. This program allows people over 55 to enjoy low cost holidays of social tourism in Spain. It is an EU program that subsidizes vacations in the Balearic Islands and Andalusia in periods of low tourist traffic namely, from October 2009 until April 2010. The indicative cost depending on the tourist agency is about 400 euros for 8 days at selected 4stars hotels with full board, tickets, tours etc. Tourist Packages in Spain are part of the program Calypso which was approved by the European Parliament with a budget of 1 million euros and refers to the promotion of social tourism with the participation of Member States. Tourism in Spain and financial data The sightseeing visits and payments in 2008 (Sinclair et al. 2008:85)are the following: Greece Spain Italy France Turkey Visitors (in millions) 17 57,4 42.7 79.3 25 Revenue ($ billions) 17.1 61.6 41.7 55.6 22 . From the above numbers, it is easily concluded that Spain is a major tourist destination, but it also attracts high-level tourists who spend enough money, since it has the best revenue ratio per visitor among the major European destinations! The tourist development of the country is organized. Some areas are developed for very high level tourism as Marbella. Some areas are selected for mass tourism, as for example Benidorm which is a Spanish Miami with 4 million visitors every year or not Liouret de Mar and Rosas in Costa Brava. In addition, tourism is organized in large hotels, which have lower costs and higher bargaining power with the major tour operators. One example is the Sol Melia which has a revenue of 1.3 billion euros, 35,000 employees at 270 hotels from Brazil to China. Another example is Iberostar with 102 hotels in 15 countries and 1 billion revenue, 23,000 employees and around 70,000 beds. However, if financial data get more analyzed the following will be concluded: Spain in 2008 (Sinclair et al. 2008:94) welcomed 57.4 million visitors, representing 1.8 million fewer than last year, which means a fall of 3.1%. This fact has occurred since 1997, the year when, the statistical monitoring of the tourist industry began. This decline is mainly due to the decrease in arrivals from France and the United Kingdom which are two of the three main countries of foreign tourists in Spain. The ratio of reduced tourist traffic is attributed to a decline in the economies of these two countries. So, after the sectors of construction and industry, there was the turn of the tourism sector to cope with crisis. This sector represents 10.7% of Spanish GDP and employs 13.5% of the workforce of the country. The areas with the highest tourist traffic in 2008 were: Catalonia with 14,193,952 tourists (-6.7%), the Balearic Islands with 10,288,958 tourists (+1.4%), the Canary Islands with 9,363,219 tourists , (-1%), Andalusia with 8,147,688 tourists (-4%), the region of Valencia with 5,655,801 tourists (+0.2%) and Madrid with 4,564,345 tourists (+3.6% ). The tourists in the country in 2008 and the percentage change compared to 2007 is as follows: Table 1 Countries of origin Number of tourists % change compared to 2007 United Kingdom 15.749.000 -3.0 Germany 10.048.939 -0.2 France 8.151.449 -8.5 Scandinavian countries 3.574.398 +3.0 Italy 3.464.241 -5.8 Netherlands 2.502.060 +0.4 Portugal 2.291.146 -3.5 Ireland 1.659.327 +1.5 Belgium 1.626.983 -4.7 Switzerland 1.282.740 -6.7 Rest of Europe 3.262.834 +11.6 USA 1.133.801 -1.5 Rest of America 1.331.449 -6.1 Rest of the world 1.339.499 -12.2 TOTAL 57.417.871 -2.6 Source: Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce Table 2 Year Number of tourists (in millions) % change compared to 2007 1997 39.5 1998 41.8 5.9 1999 45.4 8.5 2000 46.4 2.1 2001 48.5 4.7 2002 50.3 3.6 2003 50.8 1.0 2004 52.4 3.1 2005 55.9 6.6 2006 58.1 4.1 2007 59.1 1.7 2008 57.4 -3.1 Source: Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce Criticism of the Spanish model of tourism The Spanish model has disappointed its original supporters. The promising North European market turns its back to Spain. The temporary economic gains in the housing market and in the construction market of vacation houses have already begun to subside. Unlike the most optimistic forecasts of the real estate lobby, these investments in 2005 showed a decrease of 16.7%. The decrease of 6% in 2004 was interpreted as a slight variation, and not as a big change (Casado Diaz 2006:78). Foreign investments in the real estate sector dropped by 0.9%. The property market in Spain has began to have a negative reputation among potential customers of northern Europe, while international organizations talk about the need to manage a soft landing of the specific market to avoid unpleasant and extended economic consequences. The rampant construction of holiday homes and hotels in coastal areas has begun to generate negative consequences. The freely accessible places on the beaches have been reduced overcrowding and disturbing activities are increasing, the water quality is deteriorating having as an effect the undermining of the overall tourism policy in Spain. The professional organizations of hoteliers call for an immediate discontinuation of coastal areas building programs. Lastly, there is the growing trend for creating golf courses at the new holiday home complexes and the subsequent environmental consequences (Wall 1997:105). Indeed, it is planned an increase in golf areas despite the saturation of these facilities. It is estimated that each year 10 new stadiums are built and in ten years, there will be 500 golf areas (Mc Laren 2002:187). The strengthening of trend of creating new golf areas is based on the fact that golfers spend on average much more money per person. The reaction to this new situation was an attempt to redefine tourism policy (Newton 1996: 150). The fall in profits encouraged the adoption of positions that until recently was criticized inthe tourism industry. The Mediterranean coasts of Spain gather 15,600,000 residents who represent 39% of the total population. The length of its coastline is 7268. and 68% of the population lives in an area of 100 km from the coast, where the corresponding figure for the entire world population is 39%. Urbanization is so widespread that 85% of the population the Mediterranean coast lives in cities with populations over 10,000 inhabitants (Kirkby 1996:240). In general, in recent years, there has been recorded a significant deterioration of the coastal areas of Spain despite the existence of relative specific legislation. The situation in some coastal areas is as follows (Casado Diaz 2001:77): In the region of Catalonia, nearly 50% of one kilometre lane from the coast is built. 59% of the coastline has already been built. It is estimated that 70% of the coast will be built within the next years. Specific parts of the coasts of Mà ¡laga have been built 100% and this trend is spreading to the shores of Granada, Almeria, Kadid and Huelva. 90% of the Andalusian coast faces already problems of environmental degradation. Even natural area parks, such as the Cabo de Gata-Nijar in Almeria, have become an area of housing development programs and projects. The rapid urbanization and population growth of the region of Murcia has led to an increase of population growth in two years (1999 2000) by 15% bringing a significant pressure for further residential development and reduction of free and public spaces. Many coastal regions of Valencia have been built. 33% of the total coastal area shows residential development. Specific areas such as Alicante have been built at a rate exceeding 40% of its coasts. The urban development plans of the region have occasionally been the subject of study and complaints from the European Commission (Bramwell 1996:453). Indeed, the latter has proposed the imposition of a moratorium on the urban development to address the related deficiencies in design and ensure the protection of the environmental conditions of the development process (Casado Diaz et al. 2004:363). Conclusion Spain remains a country of great beauty and high tourist interest. The model, however, of mass tourism that has followed does not seem to be as successful as it was in the past and the country should follow modern tourism practices that will help it remain competitive in the future. A basic prerequisite for a successful redefined tourism strategy should be the concern for the environment and the reduction of residential development (Hunter Jones et al.1997:291).