Costa Blanca

Birth rate at all time low in Alicante

According to the research The Cost of Parenting by Save the Children, the average monthly expense for raising a son or daughter in Alicante and the Valencian Community in 2024 is 839 euros, which is 18% more than in 2022. Motherhood and fatherhood have become financial burdens for many families due to inflation, rising house prices, and utility price increases.

Birth rates, meanwhile, are still declining. The region’s rate of 1.19 children per woman is one of the lowest in Europe, indicating a widening disparity between the desired and actual birth rates of children. Almost half of women who did not have children would have like to have more, and 20% of women over the age of 40 who already had children would have preferred to have more, according to the CIS Survey on Fertility, Family and Childhood.

The cost of raising a child is skyrocketing: why is this the case?

Important commodities and services have been severely impacted by inflation, according to Save the Children. There has been a 67% increase in home supplies and a 25% increase in food since 2022.

A staggering 45% of youngsters now reside in households that are severely unable to handle unforeseen costs; this number has increased by 4% in the past two years alone.

The three most expensive items since 2022 have been food (up over 25%), housing (up over 67%), and household supplies (up over 67%), which is a major aspect in the economic burden.

Particularly at risk are homes headed by a single parent, as the report notes. One study found that among the over 66,000 homes in the community headed by a single mother, 67.5% were at danger of poverty or social exclusion.

Director of Save the Children in the Valencian Community Rodrigo Hernández says that women’s capacity to afford the costs of having children is directly affected by their unstable employment situations and bad working conditions.

In relation to age, what is the average cost of raising a child?
Monthly costs associated with raising a child rise steadily when they enter puberty and continue to fluctuate throughout their formative years.

This is the age-based monthly expense for each child: Between the expenses of the nursery, home adaption, and food, the total cost approaches 650 euros for children aged 0 to 3. A bit more, up to 759 euros a month, between the ages of four and six. The anticipated monthly cost is 846 euros up until the age of 12, mainly because food prices go up and furniture needs to be replaced. The peak price point, at about 967 euros, occurs between the ages of 13 and 17. Spending on entertainment, apparel, and electronics rises at this point. “With adolescence, the cost shoots up: leisure is more expensive, children no longer play with toys, but with electronic devices, and food continues to increase,” the survey notes.

Adding insult to injury, the expense of housing is on the rise. From 2022 to 2018, the cost of housing and utilities increased by 67% and 84%, respectively.

Reversing the birth crisis requires greater public assistance.
In light of this, Save the Children maintains that public policies should be strengthened to assist in child raising. Among its suggestions are the following: a universal benefit for dependent children, mimicking programs in other European countries; streamlining the Valencian Income for Inclusion (RVI) to make it easier for more families to receive aid without bureaucratic red tape; and adjusting the aid to reflect the current economic reality, making sure that financial assistance truly covers the expenses of raising children.

The chance to ensure the rights of the most vulnerable children has presented itself with the reorganisation of the RVI, Hernández says.

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Alicante to Seville daily with new Ryanair schedule

During the summer of 2025, Ryanair will run daily flights between Alicante and Seville.

The company plans to connect the two cities on a daily basis from today, March 27th, until October 25th. This year, the connection is strengthened with a flight every weekday, in contrast to the 2024 summer season when the route ran six days a week (with double frequency on Sundays and no flights on Wednesdays). Additionally, Ryanair plans to launch eight weekly flights in April 2025, with the addition of a second daily frequency on Saturdays.

Reaching 125,581 passengers in 2024, the link with Seville, the capital of Andalusia and Spain’s fourth most populous city, saw stratospheric growth. Compared to 2023, when the route carried 58,361 people between the two cities, this number marked a 115% increase.

A potential increase of frequency on the Alicante-Elche and Seville route has not been ruled out, and Ryanair will soon release its 2025–2026 winter schedule. Given the ongoing increase in demand on this route, the Irish airline may be planning to improve connection, as it ran five weekly flights during the previous winter season.

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Benidorm could start fining illegal tourist properties by Easter

Since the formal transfer of authority is anticipated to take place next week, Benidorm may start immediately fining unlawful tourist accommodations as early as Easter. Marián Cano, the Regional Minister of Innovation, Industry, Commerce, and Tourism, made this announcement as an indication of the advancements made in working with local councils to keep an eye on the tourism industry’s underground economy. The city councils of Alicante, Castellón, Elche, Torrevieja, and Benicarló are among the other municipalities that have stated their intention to take on this responsibility. This progress has already been formalised in Valencia, where the transfer of powers has been completed and all the procedures are prepared for approval next week in Benidorm.

In her response to a parliamentary question, the Nuciera councillor discussed the issue in Les Corts and stressed that the new tourism inspection plan “is not a continuation of the previous one, but rather an improvement that introduces more effective measures, strengthens institutional collaboration, and better responds to the needs of the sector.” She stressed cooperation with local governments in this regard in order to provide “more effective inspections and a swift response to irregularities.”

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Twenty kilos of cocaine found in a van near Alicante, leading to ten arrests

After discovering a 20-kilogram cocaine hoard in Alicante concealed within an industrial machine being carried in a van, the National Police have disbanded a drug trafficking organisation that was active in the region. A firearm, over three kilogrammes of cocaine, almost 100 marijuana plants, and 50 bottles made with valves and chemicals used to make the powerful drug “BHO” (an acronym for “butane hash oil”), a concentrated cannabis oil that achieves 80% THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, were all seized as part of the operation, which also led to the arrest of ten individuals in Alicante, San Vicente, and Torrellano.

If sold by the gramme, the 20 kilogrammes of cocaine would have brought in €1.2 million, and if sold by the kilogramme, €610,000. The black market value of the 3.2 kg of hashish that was found at one of the residences is €22,054 per gramme.

The Alicante Judicial Police’s UDYCO (Underground Drug Enforcement Unit) Narcotics Unit has started looking into a Torrellano resident who might be involved in drug trafficking with his son, who resides at a different Alicante address.

In order to identify everyone in the gang, the agents conducted a number of surveillance operations. They discovered that the group travelled and transported the drugs to other provinces using a number of cars, some of which were rented.

To escape suspicion, the suspects also switched cars, but the National Police were still able to verify their suspicions. In one of the monitored residences, they found a steady stream of individuals, some with criminal histories and others who came and went quickly after purchasing their medication for their own use.

Police saw a man riding a motorbike quickly out of one of the homes during one of the surveillance missions. When he was stopped and searched, it was discovered that he had 2,500 euros in cash on him. The inmates shared a van with another suspect, which was used to transport electrical equipment that might be utilised in marijuana growth facilities and to transport drugs to other provinces.

The National Police stopped the vehicle in the Alicante neighbourhood of El Moralet in early March, resulting in the seizure of the 20 kilogrammes of cocaine. An industrial heel-polishing equipment contained the medicines. A revolver with ammunition and rifle cartridges, 40 grammes of cocaine that was ready for distribution, 73 hashish acorns, over three kilogrammes of hashish tablets, some speed, and 81 marijuana plants were among the items found during searches conducted at homes in Alicante, Torrellano, and San Vicente del Raspeig after this seizure.

Additionally, 50 bottles of chopped marijuana that had been prepared with entry holes so that this cannabis concentrate could be made using gas and 54 grammes of BHO were confiscated by the police. A potent medication containing up to 80% THC is produced by this procedure.

After appearing in court, three of the arrested were placed in jail, while the others were freed on bond. Six of the ten inmates already had criminal histories, and the father, who has been the subject of an investigation since the beginning, together with his son, is one of those involved.

Experts from the Alicante Provincial Scientific Police Brigade will examine the revolver that was found after one of the searches because it does not have a serial number.