Sports enthusiasts from across the world are expected to flock to Valencia next year for the World Indoor Championships – with the new advanced running track being officially opened this week.

From March 7th to 9th 2008, visitors are expected to stream into the Palau Velodromo Luis Puig for the event being held on the state-of-the-art running track.

The surface, dubbed Mondotrack FTX, is made of the same material as that being used in the Beijing Olympics and the track has hydraulic technology which raises the bends in order to help the athletes push forward.

Royal Spanish Athletics Federation president José María Odriozola said: “This is a fantastic sports hall.

“All the preparations for the World [Indoor Championships] are on schedule and I’m convinced it will be a complete success in every sense: organisational, crowd but also in terms of athletics standards.”

Valencia is gearing up for a number of sporting events taking place next year which are expected to pull in thousands more overseas visitors.

As well as the World Indoor Championships, it will also be hosting its first European Grand Prix, the Volvo Ocean Race and the Motorcycling Grand Prix.

Investors looking to buy property in Spain could benefit from the news that the number of visitors to the country is expected to see a major boost.

Tourism chiefs have claimed that a new website will see a huge influx of foreigners to the country which is already a popular destination for British holidaymakers.

The new online travel guide has been designed by both Spanish and Portuguese experts who are marketing the Iberian Peninsula as an individual destination - not two separate countries.

It is hoped that people flying into Portugal will be encouraged to spend much of their holiday across the border and experience the attractions of neighbouring Spain.

Javier Pinanes, director of the Tourist Office of Spain, commented: "This new site provides a truly engaging experience and is a major step in how we market the two destinations to the world."

Visitors are expected to flock across the border to spend time in the stunning Costa Blanca, one of the most beautiful regions in the entire Iberian Peninsula.

Leading investment bank Bancaja has continued its positive strides of recent years, gaining an encouraging report from an independent credit review.

Bancaja, Spain’s third largest savings bank, was reviewed by Moody’s Investors Service, with the long-term rating of the group confirmed at A1.

Moody’s highlighted the group’s rising margins over the last few years – especially business margins- and commended Bancaja for favouring a good efficiency ratio.

Meanwhile, the bank’s short-term rating was confirmed at P1 level, while financial strength ratings also held their C+ level – identified by Moody’s as impressive achievements in the current market situation.

A key element of Bancaja’s business is its real estate branch, an element of the firm that Moody’s singled out for particular praise.

The risk analysis and financial review specialist said that Bancaja’s concentration of risk in the real estate sector was considerably lower than average in the savings banking sector – making the firm less vulnerable to the difficulties currently affecting other real estate and mortgage lenders.

Costa del Sol holidaymakers and property seekers could soon be gifted an improved transport system for navigating the area, following proposals from the regional council for a new motorway link.

Plans for the new toll road between the Costa del Sol and Ronda have been released by the Junta de Andalucia, with the regional body promising that the new road would cut journey time from the current 50 minutes to only 22.

Opposition groups have criticised the plans, saying the new road would adversely affect the Sierra de las Nieves mountains, but the Junta was adamant that traffic problems on the existing coastal road needed to be resolved.

The Andalusian counsellor for public works, Concepcion Gutierrez, said that the new toll road, which could be ready in four and a half years, offered great opportunities for local businesses and promised to boost the local economy.

If the road does come into being by 2012, the €350 million (£252 million) project will involve 26 viaducts, a large suspension bridge and a 1.6 km tunnel – a testament to the rugged and breathtaking landscape of the Costa del Sol.

The region, holding resort towns like Marbella and Estepona, is a timeless favourite with UK property hunters and requires a robust transport network to serve the thousands of holidaymakers arriving every year.

South-eastern Spanish area the Costa Blanca has been identified as the favourite location for domestic Spanish holidaymakers.

Iberian specialist website TypicallySpanish.com claimed that national statistics institute figures showed a big gain for the region in October, with the Costa Blanca overtaking even prime winter locations like the Canary Islands.

The upsurge of domestic visitors flocking to towns like Alicante brought 153,000 Spanish nationals to the popular Costa, making it the most popular location for October holidays.

While autumnal visits to the area may have taken more of a couples city break form, the region also showed its popularity for summer family holidays in the sun, with some 600,000 Spaniards claimed to have headed for the Costa over July and August.

While domestic visitors play a considerable part in boosting the economy of Spanish holiday areas, overseas travellers and property seekers are also in abundance in regions like the Costa Blanca.

National statistics for non-hotel accommodation stays in Spain showed that through October British visitors accounted for 44 per cent, followed by Germans, on 22 per cent.

With flights cheaper and quicker than ever in reaching European destinations, British holidaymakers are taking year-round trips that they would never have considered in the past, it has been claimed.

The Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) said that rapid city breaks were now a huge craze with travel-loving Brits, thanks to budget airlines opening up routes to locations all nearby countries like France and Spain,

Figures from the Office for National Statistics in 2006 revealed that 80 per cent of all trips abroad taken by UK residents were to Europe, accounting overall for £20.3 billion of overseas spending.

Sean Tipton, spokesperson for Abta, said: "One of the main reasons for the increase in the popularity of short city breaks is the low cost carriers.

"In the past, before the no frills airlines started, a flight to Madrid, where only a couple of airlines would have flown, would have cost £300 or £400."

Ryanair alone offers flights to Madrid from Liverpool, the East Midlands and Dublin, allowing UK holidaymakers and property seekers easy access to the heart of Spain for well below £300.