The city exports cement, wine, olive oil, and fruit, and has light industries, including food-processing, leather, textiles, and pottery. Turrones (torrons in Valencian) —a honey and almond nougat—is a food speciality of Jijona, close to Alicante, although alicantinos are especially proud of their paella, being "arros a banda" a local favourite, and seafood. The construction boom has raised many environmental concerns and both the local autonomous government and city council are under scrutiny by the European Union. Wild construction is the subject of hot debates among politicians and citizens alike.
The city has regular ferry services to the Balearic Islands and Algeria, and an international airport is nearby, served by Iberia and other airlines. The city is strongly fortified, with a spacious harbour. Amongst the most notable features of the city is its main castle, the "Castillo de Santa Barbara", which sits high above the city upon a cliff.
The most important festival, the Bonfires of Saint John, takes place during the summer solstice. This is followed a week later by seven nights of firework and pyrotechnic contests between companies on the urban beach Playa del Postiguet. Another well-known festival is Moros y Cristianos in Altozano or San Blas district. Overall, the city boasts a year-round nightlife, helped by tourists, fun-loving residents, and a large student population of the Universitat d'Alacant. The nightlife social scene tends to shift to nearby Playa de San Juan (St. John's Beach) during the summer months.
The city is the headquarters of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market and a sizeable population of Euro public workers live here. At the foot of the main staircase of the City Hall Building (Ayuntamiento) is the "cota cero" (zero point), used as the point of reference for measuring the height above or below sea level of any point in Spain, due to the small tidal variations of the sea in Alicante.
