Posted Week Commencing: 28th February 2005
Amarilla Golf developments to be finished!
Completing the development of Amarilla Golf in San Miguel de Abona is set to begin in two months. The local authority has handed the management of the project to municipal company Urbanización y Vivienda.
A total of 9 million euros will be provided for the 12 companies who developed the plots on the estate and have still not completed the complexes.
Mayor Arturo González said work should be under way in two months once the necessary guarantees had been obtained to complete the budget.
San Miguel Town Hall has also put the municipal company in charge of building 28 factory premises at Llano del Camello for workshops and other businesses with activities that would cause a nuisance in residential areas.
A third scheme involves the construction of a sewage collection system serving San Miguel’s lower zone, including the population areas of Amarilla Golf, Golf del Sur, Las Chafiras, El Carmen complex and Llano del Camello.
The Town Hall has begun a landscaping and improvements project in Las Chafiras’ lower zone and Punta de Lomo population nucleus.
Green areas, pavements, a telephone network and underground electrical cables are part of the scheme which Mayor Arturo González said was important to improve the image of certain zones in keeping with a large population increase.
The work at Las Chafiras will cost 531,000 euros and nearly 200,000 euros will be spent at Punta de Lomo.
Over budget before it starts!
Completing Tenerife’s island ring road has been costed at 430 million euros, three times what was originally proposed.
The Santiago del Teide-Adeje section had a budget of 59 million euros, but that had now risen to 170 million euros, said the Canarian Government’s Infrastructures Councillor, Antonio Castro.
Work on the Icod de los Vinos-Santiago del Teide stretch would now cost 260 million euros against the previous 84 million euros. This included a problem area of a protected zone at El Tanque where the new road would link with the old one towards Santiago del Teide.
Projects for the two sections were virtually completed and the Regional Executive was expected to put the work out to tender in the middle of the year, said the Councillor.
So far, there was no plan for the Los Realejos-Icod stretch which had suffered considerable delays.
The budget was decided in a roads agreement signed by the Canarian Government and Madrid in 1997.
Commercial centre has you going round in circles
Innovative and avant-garde, the exclusive CC Plaza del Duque sits luxuriously at home amid Costa Adeje’s four- and five-star hotels.
The newly opened commercial centre has an image-conscious design by architect Eugenio Pallarés who has created the 20,000 m2 complex inside a rotunda.
For Shyam Aswani, President of family company Atimos Canaria SL, the owners, it was important to provide a top-quality point of reference in South Tenerife combining three fundamental elements.
The design had to be tailored to a circular shape so the development would be a symbolic work integrated in its surroundings.
The centre must emphasise its privileged position in the nerve centre of a prestigious high-profile tourist zone and bring together a commercial mix of the most select companies.
Nearly 50 business premises can be found on the four floors with the upper level devoted to gastronomy in the form of eight specialised restaurants.
At street level, there are 14 shops dedicated to fashion products and accessories with international brand names.
The first floor houses 24 establishments for fashion, accessories, sport and decorating, a supermarket, a travel agency, property sales and other services.
For clients’ convenience, an underground car park has spaces for 200 vehicles, there are three panoramic lifts and access is via four entrances. An Adeje Tourism Office has also opened in the centre.
Electricity matters under discussion
The Mayor of Arona, Jose Alberto Gonzalez Reveron, and the councillor for Maintenance in the borough, Ramon Garcia, recently held a meeting with representatives of UNELCO ENDESA to discuss the planned electricity pylons.
Gonzalez Reveron explained that the main subject of the meeting was to discuss the positioning of the pylons although the issue of power cuts being experienced in the borough due to lack of adequate supply was also discussed. With this mind, the representatives of the town hall requested an in depth study of the performance of the electricity substations in the borough.
Gonzalez Reveron explained that the decisions taken at the meeting between UNELCO chiefs and the local authorities at the end of last year should be respected with the pylons being situated on the right hand side of the TF1 motorway, facing south, so as not to affect the villages of Guaza and Parque de la Reina. On reaching Guaza, the line will continue in a north easterly direction and continue towards Chayofa before reaching El Vallito in Adeje.
Land set aside for the future
To meet growing population needs, South Tenerife municipality Granadilla de Abona is holding 2.25 million m2 of land in reserve.
Mayor Jaime González Cejas said 250,000 m2 were earmarked for council housing with young people and residents of limited means in mind.
Public and children’s parks, educational and cultural centres, green spaces, sports and leisure facilities were among the uses proposed for the other 2 million m2 in Granadilla’s general plan.
San Isidro was identified as the most important residential and services centre under expansion with a variety of infrastructures planned.
Quality construction was a must for the coastal zone where improvements were scheduled for beach accessibility and use.
El Médano would become an important tourist leisure centre, while school and health needs would be met and an increase in tourist beds limited to 5,000.
Fishing village Los Abrigos’ role as a high quality residential nucleus would be consolidated with the provision of public spaces and ample parking areas.
Special Prize for Loro Parque.
Wolfgang Keissling recently received a special development prize presented by the president of the Canary Islands, Adan Martin, and the President of the Balearics, Jaume Matas, during a ceremony at which tourist professionals from both archipelagos were present.
The President of the Taramay Group, Rafael Caballero, explained that tourism related businesses play an important part in the economy of the islands as they make a notable contribution to the wealth and social well being and Mr Keissling, he added, stands out for his creativity and imagination as well as his persistence and his ability to pursue an idea until it becomes reality.
Mr Keissling said that it was an honour to receive the award and he would continue working on his projects with the same enthusiasm as he had in 1972 when the Loro Parque was opened in Puerto de La Cruz.
Loro Parque has been an integral part of Tenerife for the last thirty-three years and the opening of the new Siam Park in the south, together with the arrival of four killer whales at Loro Parque, will ensure an exciting future.
NATO exercises should not be allowed
Madrid was accused of breaking a promise by giving the go-ahead for new NATO military exercises in waters close to the Canary Islands after being offered firm assurances of no environmental or tourism threats.
Ecologists Ben Magec hit out at the Central Government for going back on a pledge not to permit any more manoeuvres in the area despite guarantees of no sonar, landings or use of firepower within 50 nautical miles of the coasts.
In a meeting with the Canarian Government, Félix Sanz Roldán, Chief of Defence Staff, gave notice of the exercises taking place in April, stressing the intention of avoiding any danger to the environment, especially the deaths of zifios as has happened in the past, or impact on tourism.
Sanz and Regional Executive President Adán Martín said they were satisfied with the collaboration promised on the manoeuvres which were said to be necessary to guarantee the security of NATO territory and, specifically, the Canaries.
A new rapid response force to be used for intervention in any Alliance zone under threat will be tested for the first time in the April operations.
Ben Magec called for a demonstration against the planned manoeuvres from all quarters of the population and the Canarian Greens demanded Defence Minister José Bono ban the exercises as had been promised.
Canarian Tourism Councillor José Juan Herrera said continuing NATO operations were not compatible with the archipelago’s main economic sector.
Nature v’s tourism
Ecologists went on the attack after a natural beach in Adeje moved a step closer to becoming a traditional tourist attraction.
ATAN (Tenerife Association of the Friends of Nature) has been keeping a close watch on movements at Playa de la Enramada on the western edge of Costa Adeje.
Artificial sand, breakwaters, a four-star hotel and a kiosk are part of a plan to transform the beach as the business sector has shown interest in developing the area.
The latest move revealed was that Provincial Coasts were on the verge of submitting a regeneration scheme to the Environment Ministry.
ATAN hit back, describing such a plan as aggressive, negative and contravening the Law of Coasts.
Over the last 100 years, the beach had been a natural attraction, said supporters, and every January 20 it was the setting for a blessing of the sea during the traditional fiesta of San Sebastián, drawing thousands of people.
Hermitages of San Sebastián and La Caleta can be found nearby.
Adeje Town Hall and businesspeople are understood to favour a regeneration project to reduce a deficit of holiday beaches in the region, responding to the current demand and anticipating future needs.
Port protests continue
Ecological organisation Greenpeace described the fight against South Tenerife’s Granadilla de Abona industrial port as a priority because the project was one of the major assaults planned on the Spanish coast.
Aboard the ecologists’ Arctic Sunrise ship in capital Santa Cruz’ port, spokeswoman María José Caballero presented a report opposing the scheme, saying work had not begun after the Ministry of Promotion had scrapped a second invitation for tenders.
The proposed port was badly located and the plan lacked logic, worrying European institutions over its environmental legality.
Greenpeace had made an official complaint against Milagros Luis Brito, the Canarian Government’s Environment Deputy Councillor, alleging he concealed departmental reports supposedly detrimental to the project, she reminded.
The declaration about the likely impact finally approved by Madrid did not hold up, was inaccurate and was based on false arguments.
Greenpeace left a calling card on a Granadilla cliff – a 220 m2 banner saying Recuperemos la costa in protest at the plan.
Meanwhile, Canarian President Adán Martín claimed the port would support the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, helping to improve the environment in relation to the reduction in the ozone layer and climate change by cutting carbon dioxide emissions.
Postal service under fire
Letters can take up to 20 days to reach homes in the La Postura and Los Olivos districts of Adeje – and sometimes the wait is more than a month.
Staff shortages and insufficient post offices are blamed for the delays in the South Tenerife tourist municipality with 35,000 inhabitants.
In an attempt to improve the service in several areas, Vecinos Piedra Redonda residents association in La Postura has made an official complaint about Correos’ poor deliveries and sent an urgent letter to the district head at the Provincial Central Office.
President Ricardo Müller said one area with a 6,000-plus population had to rely on deliveries from just three people who were given only month’s contracts.
Adeje had two post offices in the town and at Costa Adeje whereas neighbouring Arona could boast five and Guía de Isora four. Other premises had been opened, but were not operational.
Correos officials said there were difficulties attracting employees who lived in the area and recent recruits were inexperienced, but a study on restructuring the workforce had been carried out and the Provincial Central Office was waiting for Madrid’s decision on whether to implement the measures.
Protection service kept busy
Three Nile crocodiles, two orang-outans, five tigers, two panthers and a python were among the protected species seized by the Guardia Civil’s Nature Protection Service in Santa Cruz de Tenerife province last year.
That haul plus 53 turtles, 33 corals, three green iguanas, an eagle, a buzzard and monkey came under the agents’ mission to break up networks specialising in the business of transporting or illegal possession of such animals.
Altogether, they carried out 110 operations in this field while taking official action in 2,971 cases involving offences affecting the environment.
Seven people were arrested on suspicion of committing crimes that included using dynamite charges to catch more than 50 kilos of fish on South Tenerife’s Arona coast and starting forest fires in mountain areas.
Within Teide National Park, agents followed up 161 inquiries of which more than 72% involved hunting.
Illegal buildings, waste disposal and sea fishing breaches were also part of the agents’ brief.
A royal welcome for pop couple
Marc Anthony and his Cleopatra were given a right royal Tenerife welcome as befits the king and queen of Latin pop.
But, for once, actress-singer Jennifer López had only a supporting role for her salsa superstar husband was the main attraction at a concert that outdid even Michael Jackson’s island visit in September 1993.
Although Son Latinos, the Las Vistas beach party that was an August tradition until last year, may have drawn more enthusiasts to South Tenerife, the Puerto Rican-born singer’s Santa Cruz port performance was the musical event for 25,000 fans.
He was also there by public demand, bringing the curtain down on a short Spanish tour that originally included only Madrid, Barcelona and Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.
Marc Anthony and J-Lo had arrived by private jet, touching down in the early hours at southern Reina Sofía Airport in a hush-hush operation that ensured no waiting crowd.
Two gleaming Jaguars – one gold, one white recalling a recent promotional video – were waiting to whisk them to the Tenerife capital and the luxurious Royal Suite of the Hotel Mencey which has welcomed Spanish monarchs, national and international politicians, and showbiz celebrities.
Press, fans and the plain curious laid siege, hoping for a glimpse of the golden couple who, insiders reported, had ordered two French omelettes (one with egg white only, the other more generously made with two eggs) plus salad, canapés, a selection of Canarian cheeses and natural orange juice.
The patient multitude were not to be disappointed, being rewarded with smiles and waves.
It was quite a transformation from eight years ago when Marc Anthony, now New York-based, last sang on Tenerife for 1,000 people.
They don’t come much bigger in the Latin world now and, in keeping with that status, he was supported on stage by an 18-piece band, 60,000 watts of power and a 200,000-watt lighting rig.
After a half-hour delay, Marc Anthony kicked in with favourites from his last Amar sin mentiras CD and featured a salsa version of Valió la pena. He had the spotlight and J-Lo watched discreetly from the wings, applauding and cheering him on.
Travel discounts approved
Madrid finally approved the air and sea travel discounts for Canary Islands residents, backdated to January 1.
Inter-island flights qualify for a 38% reduction, up from 33%, but ferry trips have only 30% off.
Subsidising maritime journeys is shared by Madrid and the Canarian Government. However, the Council of Ministers agreed to raise the state contribution by just 5% to 15% on a par with the Regional Executive, although the latter have still to decide whether to step up their involvement.
For residents of the Canaries, the Balearics, Ceuta and Melilla, air and sea connections with the mainland carry an improved 38% discount which the Central Government has promised to increase to 50% during the current legislature.
Transport companies and travel agencies stressed again the headache involved in reimbursing travellers since January 1.
International Working Women’s Day celebrations
Adeje is offering an impressive programme of events to celebrate International Working Women’s Day including theatre performances, conferences plus a whole host of other activities.
Councillor Blanca Paniagua has organised a series of activities to celebrate the day on behalf of the department of Women’s Affairs of Adeje town hall. The events, which will take place over a five day period, and this year the town hall intends to show solidarity with the women from the Sahara desert. On Monday 7 March, Zahra Ramdan from the Union of Sahara women, will give an informal talk about the problems experienced by these women over the last 27 years.
The Town Hall, explained Paniagua, will be auctioning a picture to raise money for the women and it will be the women themselves who decide how best to spend the money whether on sanitary installations or educational items.
The activities will begin on Friday 4 March when the Shakespeare work Carmen Ofelia will be performed in Adeje Cultural Centre followed by Cosas Nuestras, a comic rendition of everyday aspects of women’s lives. There will be no entry charge for either show.
On Saturday the town hall will provide a bus to collect any women (and men) who wish to spend a pleasant afternoon in the Adeje Spa followed by dinner and a show at San Miguel Castle. Tickets for the afternoon are 10 and 22 euros respectively.
Free cinema for women will begin on March 6 in the cultural centre where Calendar Girls can be seen at 11am, Te doy mis ojos at 1pm, El jardín de Alegria at 6pm and La boda del Monzon at 8pm.


Posted Week Commencing: 21st February 2005
New multifunctional vehicle for Adeje.
Felipe Delgado Ramos, Adeje Public Works councillor, Hermogenes Vera Lopez, Installations councillor and Juan Navarro Siverio, Infrastructures councillor, recently unveiled the new multifunctional vehicle acquired by Adeje town hall for the cleaning of the borough.
The new Mercedes lorry has all the latest technology and gadgets to guarantee a high quality service as well as the safety of the workers and it will be employed in a wide variety of services.
The vehicle has cost 86,000 euros and is equipped to deal with the removal of rubble, rubbish and other heavy materials.
Delgado Ramos wished to emphasise the great effort being made by the town hall to improve the service offered to the Adeje residents; “We now have a quality vehicle and qualified workers and we will continue to make an effort to maintain Adeje’s image of excellence in the future.”
Busy time for airports
January was a hectic month for Tenerife airports with only capital Madrid and Barcelona handling more passengers throughout Spain.
The new year opened with a total of 1,026,703 travellers passing through, according to the latest figures released by Spanish airports authority AENA.
Southern Reina Sofía was busy in December with 714,969 passengers, but topped that with 762,607 at the start of 2005.
Los Rodeos in the North dealt with 264,096 travellers in January which was 6.2% up on the corresponding month of 2004.
South Tenerife’s 5,551 operations and the North’s 5,058 placed the airports at seventh and eighth respectively in the Spanish league table
He’s behind you
Children from the infant and primary school of Las Torres in Adeje, recently enjoyed a shadow theatre show entitled ‘Trusky y su amigo Manolito’.
The activity was part of the municipal programme Edu y Cion which aims to take theatre, music, art and other recreational activities to the schools in the borough.
This activity was organised by the councillor responsible for Cultural and Educational promotion for the town hall of Adeje, Gonzalo Delgado Diaz.
Las Galletas needs a boost
Concerned Socialists in Arona joined the growing calls for an urgent plan of action to revive fishing village Las Galletas’ commercial sector.
Spokesman Francisco García Santamaría said the area’s traders were in desperate need of a business boost.
Reorganisation of the village’s traffic circulation and difficulties in parking were listed as the chief factors contributing to the slump.
Santamaría suggested promotion and marketing campaigns as part of a reactivation plan, but without forgetting solutions to the parking problems.
Also considered a priority were improvements to Las Galletas’ beach while maintaining the individual characteristics that gave the area a different appeal to neighbouring Los Cristianos and Playa de las Américas.
Chefs compete for top prize
The Tenerife Cabildo have organised the third Canarian Chefs Competition to take place between 13 and 15 April in the recinto ferial.
The competition, which has been organised through the Plan de Gastronomia, will involve a preliminary selection process during which the CV and recipes of each individual chef will be studied and form this, the ten best chefs will be chosen.
The competition will last three days during which time the chefs must prepare a dish which has pork ribs (fresh or salted) among its ingredients plus another dish of their choice.
The Vicepresident of the Cabildo, Jose Manuel Bermudez, explained that the Plan de Gastronomia aims to promote both the traditional and creative aspects of Canarian cuisine as a cultural and tourist attraction.
The panel of judges will be made up of professionals and experts in the world of gastronomy and restaurants and the participants will be given marks for organisation, technique, originality, ingredients, presentation and flavour.
The winning chef will receive a cash prize of 1,500 euros and the second and third prize winners 1,000 euros and 600 euros.
Chefs who wish to participate in the competition must present their CV before 11 March and the rules for the competition can be found on the webpage www.tenerife.es.
All clear for Teide
After eight months on yellow alert for the possibility of a volcanic eruption, code green – meaning situation normal – was restored after a summit between island authority President Ricardo Melchior, his Canarian Government counterpart, Adán Martín, and José Segura.
An increase in seismic movements and volcanic gas emissions prompted the alert to be stepped up as a precaution last June.
Tremors and discharges, which are part of Canarian life, have continued to be monitored closely under the volcano watching strategy in Tenerife’s civil defence plan until normality returned.
A summer opening for Congress centre
Costa Adeje Congresses and Conventions Palace should be inaugurated at the beginning of summer.
The public company set up by the Canarian Government and the local authority to oversee the construction is drawing up the terms governing the award of the management contract to private enterprise.
Building work should be completed in April after hold-ups, controversy and funding problems.
The objective is to promote the palace in the international market involved in the organisation of big events, congresses and conventions as well as serving tourism and local needs.
The councillor for tourism for Adeje town hall, Miguel Angel Santos Cruz, assures that both the government and the town hall have agreed that a competent, experienced company must be found to manage the complex, which also has accommodation for those attending the conferences.
Santos added that once the building has been opened officially, the main objective will be to find a space in the international congress and conference market promoting the complex to large international organizations and this, he explained, would not be a straightforward task since there is a lot of competition in this specialised sector of tourist activity.
However Santos expressed that in his opinion, the opening of the complex will make a favourable economic impact on surrounding businesses and leisure organisations, adding that up until now the main conferences and congresses have usually been held within the hotels where the number of participants has been limited due to the lack of space.
David and Goliath
Businesspeople, shopkeepers and professionals in three municipalities in the south of Tenerife are prepared to do battle against the might of multinational companies.
A titanic contest could be on the cards as Arona, Adeje and Guía de Isora gear up to defend small and medium-sized businesses from a possible invasion by superstore chains.
Cho-Parque de la Reina zone of Arona has been identified as one likely battleground with multinationals eyeing the South with great interest for new openings.
Business, trade and professional associations have joined forces to fend off or at least slow down any attempts at inroads by the giants, maintaining regular contact with the island Cabildo’s commerce and infrastructures officials who had given assurances that no permission had been granted for land to be used for such purposes.
Arona’s Jorge Bello said local Mayor José Alberto González had also told him no superstores were under urban planning consideration.
But Bello warned that multinationals were applying pressure for a foothold in the region and one way for small and medium-sized businesses to fight back was to modernise and adapt to new market demands.
Jordi Esplugas (Adeje), likening the situation to David versus Goliath, said the Government should be lobbied to implant effective commercial policies to avoid superstores moving in. He said that if the union between shopkeeper sin the south was stronger, they could apply more pressure to the government to prevent multinationals opening.
Novel drainage system to be installed in Fañabé.
The Cabildo of Tenerife has signed an agreement with the company that will carry out the installation of a new drainage system on the TF1 at the exits for Adeje.
The work, which will cost 5,9 million euros, will be funded by the Canarian government, the Tenerife Cabildo and Adeje Town Hall and will alleviate the severe flooding problems experienced in the area every time there is heavy rain.
Island councillor for roads and transport Lorenzo Dorta explained that the authorities are aiming to eliminate the flooding problems, which, he added, apart form the security aspect, do not create the kind of image that encourages visitors to return to the borough.
Lorenzo Dorta explained that the work will not interfere with the normal running of the motorway as a novel new system will be used, by which a special machine will open a series of tunnels, 360 metres in total, to act as housing for the drainage pipes. As a result there will be no need for traffic to be diverted.
It is believed that the insufficiency of the existing drainage system between San Eugenio and Fañabé is directly linked to the growth in population in the zone and the technicians have requested that the work be extended to the residential areas.
Police step up spot checks
Police officers have recently begun carrying out regular traffic checks in the borough of Granadilla.
The main objective of this latest campaign is to increase the police presence in the streets of the borough to further guarantee the safety of the residents as well as monitoring the number of vehicles that use the roads and where people travel to and from.
Fourteen officers are being allocated every week to carry out random checks and both drivers and passengers are being asked to produce valid legal identification documents.
Each week, one street of the borough is chosen and police officers set up as control area where vehicles are pulled over and car and personal documents are scrutinised.
Port protest takes to the water
The Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise paid a three-day visit to Tenerife capital Santa Cruz to reinforce the ecological organisation’s campaign against the southern Granadilla de Abona industrial port project.
Flying a Dutch flag and making her first call at the island, the ship carried a report on the effects of the port, reviewing the principal damage to natural spaces and species on the coast, analysing the conduct of national and Canarian administrations, and offering proposals and alternatives to the plan.
Arctic Sunrise also held an open day during which visitors were invited aboard to see an oceanic exhibition.
Illegal housing to be eradicated
The mayor of Arona, Jose Alberto Gonzalez Reveron, and the councillor for Urban affairs, Manuel Barrios, are holding a number of meetings with the residents of various parts of the borough to discuss the problem of illegal housing.
The objective of the meetings is to offer information to the owners of illegal housing to avoid consequences such as hefty fines and in some cases the demolition.
Gonzalez Reveron explained that sanctions in Arona are mainly applied to the illegal building of housing on urban ground or the extension of already existing housing. Fines of between 6,000 euros and 150.000 euros can be issued.
Any illegal structures built on rustic land or officially protected areas are considered as very serious and carry a fine of up to 600,000 euros and may be demolished by the authorities at any time.
To avoid these situations, the mayor is holding meetings with those affected explaining the different procedures to solve the problems and listing the help available from the town hall to carry out the necessary procedures.
The councillors added that an extra effort is being made to include in the Plan General de Ordenacion (the general organisation plan) all those buildings which have had an order opened against them by the Canarian Agency for the Protection of the Environment with the hope of avoiding as many demolitions as possible .
Lowest inflation in Spain
Inflation in the Canary Islands was the lowest in Spain during the 12 months up to the beginning of this year.
A year-on-year average rate of 2.3% was registered against a national figure of 3.1%, said the National Statistics Institute.
Prices in the archipelago dropped by 0.6% in January which was two decimal points below the national average.
The fall in Santa Cruz de Tenerife province was 0.7% compared to 0.6% for Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Clothing and footwear were down by 8.5%, followed by leisure and culture (-1%), household goods (-0.9%) and transport (-0.3%).
Over the 12 months, prices of clothing and footwear, communications and leisure and culture were the main fallers, while alcoholic drinks and tobacco and transport increased substantially.
New tourist information office in Costa Adeje.
A new Tourist Information Office is due to open in a prime position at CC Plaza del Duque in Costa Adeje’s luxury zone in the next few weeks.
Top-class hotels Bahía del Duque, Gran Tacande and Anthelia Park are in the vicinity of what will be the Town Hall Tourism Council’s third office in the area.
One can be found close to Barranco del Rey at Playa de Troya and the other on the coastal walk of Playa de Fañabé.
The local authority has been seeking to expand the network of centres providing information for the thousands of tourists staying in the municipality’s hotels and apartments.
Promising figures for January
With an increase of 3.5 points, bringing occupation figures for Tenerife’s hotels and apartments during the month of January to almost 80%, 2005 has got off to a promising start.
According to Ashotel, apartments headed the list at 84 % occupation (a rise of 2.5 points) whereas hotel accommodation rose by four points but had slightly lower occupation of only 78.7%.
Zone by zone, the south of the island showed higher occupation figures with a 82.3% (a rise of 3.8 points) while the north had figures of 76.6% (a rise of 3 points).
More people chose to stay in apartments in the north of the island where a 90% occupation level was reached whereas in the south hotels were more popular reaching 82.5% occupation.
The healthy occupation figures for December and January had been predicted as the season is at its peak in these months however, a drop is expected in the next few months.
New promotional campaign for the south
The Commission for the Promotion of the South of Tenerife, which is made up of the Tenerife Cabildo, SPET - the Society for the External Promotion of Tenerife, the town halls of Arona and Adeje, the South Tenerife Business Centre (CEST) and the organisation ASHOTEL, have agreed to spend 1.8 million euros on external promotional activities aimed specifically at improving southern resorts.
Island councillor for Tourism and Planning, Jose Manuel Bermudez, highlighted the importance of this historic agreement explaining that it is the first time that important figures such as the president and vice president of Ashotel, Pedro Luis Cobeilla and Agustín Avila, the director of SPET, Alberto Bernabeú, the president of CEST, Pedro Suarez, local businessmen, tourist organisations and town halls of an area like the south of Tenerife, have come together to share experience and ideas and carry out a project together with common objectives.
A large part of the budget will be allocated to publicity campaigns in the UK, mainland Spain, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
Another part of the budget will be spent on work with major tour operators and airlines, especially those from England, with the aim of increasing the number of flights to Tenerife.
Roads under pressure
Traffic queues and accidents could be greatly reduced after Tenerife Cabildo decided to spend more than 700,000 euros on improvements to two busy junctions of the TF-47 in a popular Adeje tourist zone.
Accesses to the resorts of Playa Paraíso and Callao Salvaje are involved and Lorenzo Dorta, the island authority’s Roads & Transport Councillor, said an extraordinary population increase coupled with tourist development had put tremendous pressure on the intersections.
The junctions could not now cope with the density of traffic which had risen to almost 20,000 vehicles a day using a stretch of road that provided access to both tourist and residential centres.
A unique and diverse holiday destination
That’s how the Canary Islands are being sold in a determined Regional Executive promotion backed by a budget of 15 million euros. All seven island authorities have agreed to put their weight behind a marketing campaign with the twin aims of boosting the tourist intake and increasing visitors’ average spending during their stay (now 37.83 euros).
Nautical, rural and nature tourism, health and beauty, golf and the congress trade will all be promoted along with activities complementary to the traditional attractions of sun and beach.
Promotional and marketing channels will include the Internet, while regular visitors could have a loyalty card offering discounts or accumulated points for their benefit.
Tourists could make repeated visits to the Canaries without holidaying on the same island and the ease of travelling within the archipelago would be stressed with the possible interest of low-cost airlines.
Mainland Spain, the UK, Germany, Norway and Sweden were the main target markets, taking a third of the budget.
Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Portugal, Belgium, Italy and France were in the second line of attack and Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary made up the third.
Pilar Parejo, Deputy Tourism Councillor, said half the 15 million euros were earmarked for trade fairs, promotional material, merchandising and familiarisation visits by tour operators and journalists.
A new promotional brochure, unveiled at Fitur tourism fair in Madrid, captures the Regional Executive’s desired image and is edited in English, German, French, Italian and Dutch.
New volcanic cave discovered
A volcanic cave running through Parque del Drago came to light during restoration work at the Icod de los Vinos visitor attraction which features the legendary dragon tree (Drago Milenario).
Technicians from the Tenerife Cabildo estimate that the tunnel could be at least one kilometre long.
Over the years numerous volcanic tunnels have been discovered beneath the northern town of Icod de Los Vinos. The largest is the Cueva del Viento and is more than fourteen kilometres long.
Local councillor, Bernardo Martin, hopes that as the new tunnel crosses beneath one of the ends of the Drago park, it could be converted into a very unique entrance for public use when the restoration work is finished
Furthermore, since the Cabildo is planning to open the Cueva del Viento to the public at the end of this year, the two volcanic tunnels together could become a popular tourist attraction bringing many visitors to the town.
Quick call service for volunteers
Red Cross (Cruz Roja) in Arona signed a contract with a mobile phone company to set up a message service in order to scramble volunteers quickly in response to an emergency.
Local President Jairo Gonzalo said that, apart from the efficiency of the service being improved, information databases were being built up as part of an updating of the non-governmental organisation.
Activities being developed include a course for swimming pool lifesavers at La Estrella Institute and first aid tuition for fishermen with Las Galletas Cultural Centre as venue.

Posted Week Commencing: 14th February 2005
Census finally finished
Next month, the Ministry of tourism will present the results of a census carried out to establish the number of legal tourist accommodation establishments in the Canary Islands.
The ministry estimates that around 4,000 establishments will be registered whereas the Istac survey corresponding to 2003 showed only 2,926 legal establishments.
The census, which is being prepared by the Canarian Government, should have been finished a year ago but there have been difficulties processing the data, problems compiling information in each of the islands and problems setting up the appropriate software to organise the information.
The census will bring tourist information on the islands up to date, allowing more accurate studies of tourist development in the islands to be made. Raimundo Dominguez, the director of tourism promotion commented that any improvements in tourist establishments will be recorded on the data base and any establishments needing reforms will also be noted.
One aspect of the project, which will come into use soon, is a computerised tourist information system. According to the Ministry of tourism, Turidata is ready to receive information on tourist numbers from each individual Cabildo. Once the collection process has been completed, which will take about three months, the system will begin to function.
The results of the census and the new information system will be used at the presentation of the report about the condition of the tourist market to the regional Government which will take place sometime in the next two months.
The report will be carefully studied before any decision is made over the future of tourism development.
Register your complaints
Arona residents are being invited to have a grumble about their Town Hall departments’ services in the heavily populated South Tenerife municipality.
A new local authority resource welcomes complaints and suggestions on ways in which operations could be improved.
Mayor José Alberto González said this latest initiative, included in the municipal modernisation plan, enabled citizens to exercise their right to express dissatisfaction or offer advice on making services better.
Any resident could voice an opinion on public management problems of immediate concern through this direct link between the population and the Town Hall.
Contact can be made through Arona’s 010 telephone helpline, at Citizens Advice Centres or via the Internet.
Early diagnosis is crucial
A new campaign for the early diagnosis of breast cancer has begun in Adeje.
Blanca Paniagua, the councillor in charge of Health and Women’s affairs at Adeje Town Hall, has announced that from 18 February onwards, all the women resident in the borough aged between 50 and 69, will be invited to attend the Mojon medical specialist Centre in Arona for a breast examination and mammogram.
This initiative, which is being promoted by the Canarian Health Service, means that mammograms will be carried out completely free of charge.
Furthermore, according to a communication from the town hall, it is not necessary for a woman to be part of the social security service to use the facility.
New lease of life for farmland
An uncultivated Tenerife plantation will be turned over to rural tourism by making way for a luxury hotel with a nine-hole golf course.
Finca Don Lucio covers 180,000 m2 between the population centres of Guayonge and San Juan in the Los Perales district of Tacoronte.
The local authority gave the go-ahead to the Casa Canaria de Campo company on condition the deteriorated Casa de Don Lucio is restored to house the hotel reception and at least half the employees are recruited from the municipality.
Tacoronte Town Council also agreed to make use of the hotel’s convention room once or twice a year.
The five-star establishment will have 60-80 beds and vineyards and fruit orchards will be planted for producing wine and jam.
Food glorious food
Tenerife is hoping to win its way into tourists’ hearts via their stomachs.
Spain now has an agency promoting gastronomy tours and the island cuisine could go down well with visitors who have an appetite for cookery courses or tastings.
Gastronomy was among Tenerife’s attractions considered worth serving up as the island Cabildo approved more than 320,000 euros in subsidies for tourism promotions.
Grants will go to town halls, non-profit-making organisations and Enterprise & Tourism Centres (CIT).
Open-air dances (romerías) and CIT’s costs will be covered, while local authorities and other bodies are encouraged to organise activities spotlighting the island’s assets.
Harbour needs more control
Las Galletas harbour has become a floating rubbish tip, say local fishermen who claim anarchy rules in the running of the Arona village’s port.
Illegal boats are allowed in and the location is used as a breakers yard, maintains Vicente Rivero, the main employer of Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes fishermen’s guild.
He is demanding that the Canarian Government’s Infrastructures, Transport & Housing Council carries out the immediate reorganisation of the installation to end the chaos.
Rivero reckons that lack of control has created an untenable situation for the fishermen at the port which is also used for sporting activities.
Hospitals under pressure
Emergency departments of Tenerife’s public hospitals continued to work under pressure which started to build up at the beginning of the year.
University Hospital Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria at Santa Cruz dealt with 3,367 patients in the first nine days of February as the daily average of 328 rose to 374, peaking at around 400.
A spokesman said various conditions were being treated, but the majority were linked to the low temperatures which the island had been suffering and the recent flu outbreak.
At the Canaries University Hospital in La Laguna, cases were up by 25%.
Helping immigrants become legal
The town hall of Arona is offering a new service aimed at helping immigrants in the borough obtain residence and work permits.
Local Mayor, Jose Alberto Gonzalez Reveron, explained the new service has been established as part of an agreement with the Spanish Federation of Boroughs and Provinces.
The Mayor added that the service would provide information about documents needed, where to get them and the opening times of the offices where the immigrants need to go to obtain residence and work permits.
Gonzalez Reveron highlighted that Arona is the only borough in the Santa Cruz de Tenerife province to offer such a service to work in conjunction with workshops for the integration of immigrants which have been functioning since last month .
Anyone interested in obtaining the information offered by the town hall should go to the cultural centres of El Fraile, Las Galletas, Los Cristianos or Valle San Lorenzo.
Basic infrastructures need attention
Valle de San Lorenzo’s future sports complex will also double as a civic centre. The project will take shape in Cruz del Guanche zone, between La Florida and Valle de San Lorenzo, where Arona Town Hall has made land available for Tenerife Cabildo.
Mayor José Alberto González, who said the complex should meet the needs of the area, announced the civic centre use when outlining the facilities which will include an indoor swimming pool and sports fields.
The scheme is in the process of being drawn up and should be included in the Cabildo’s 2006 budget. The island authority will be responsible for the pool, while Arona takes charge of the rest of the work, explained the Mayor.
In other news, concerned Valle de San Lorenzo residents called on Arona Town Hall to get on with the job of installing basic infrastructures such as a sanitation and drainage system.
José Luis Gómez, President of Fuente del Valle Association, urged the local authority to at least start drawing up the projects so that works would not be delayed, although there was a feeling that the administration was not exactly rushing the process along.
According to community guidelines, these types of services should be operational in 2008 for towns with 5,000 inhabitants and Valle de San Lorenzo had a population of more than 8,000 with the prospect of continued growth, he pointed out.
Rubbish collection was cited as another worry for the association in the battle to obtain fundamental services.
Street lighting to be updated
Arona Town Hall intends to brighten up the lives of residents in Águilas del Teide district by renewing their outdated street lighting.
Mayor José Alberto González said a part of the residential area had been equipped with a public system some years ago, but this was now considered obsolete and needed urgent replacement.
A total of 300,000 euros will be spent and the streets involved are Armiche, Tinguafaya, Panizo, Rastrojo and Tahona plus the passages between Tigaday I & II and Residencial El Mirador & Cóndor.
A makeover for the island
Tenerife Cabildo has given the green light to an ambitious programme of urban landscaping in all 31 island municipalities.
Parks, avenues, streets and public walks will be transformed into places where people can gather and enjoy leisure time.
Urban Environment, Landscape & Civil Defence’s office has earmarked a budget of five million euros to develop the Paisaten project up to 2008 with the object of improving citizens’ quality of life.
Local authorities have been asked to single out priority schemes for the programme which will determine, evaluate, plan and execute works.
So far, four town halls are understood to have submitted proposals for municipal areas to be renovated, modified or even created.
Jorge Bonnet, from the office compiling the programme, said plans could range from brightening up façades and improving accessibility to laying out or restoring green zones.
Plans for Granadilla’s growth
Granadilla de Abona Mayor Jaime González Cejas is inviting local businesspeople to invest in the southern municipality’s future.
He met with sector representatives to outline the local authority’s urban plan and the possibilities for growth, especially Granadilla industrial estate.
The Mayor said land was available for development and, where a single investor might face difficulties, there were opportunities for businesses to work on projects in partnership.
Among sites earmarked were plots at El Médano, San Isidro, Las Tabaibas district, around Cooperativa del Carmen and adjoining Montaña de Yaco and Curva del Picón.
Social improvements such as nurseries and health centres were in the frame and the Town Hall would collaborate with any interested businesspeople, said the Mayor.
New plant urgently needed
A recycling plant built by the Canarian Government at Tenerife’s Arico environmental complex is due to become operational at the end of March to deal with a mountain of plastic, metal and cartons
Of the island’s 31 municipalities, 19 have the distinctive yellow containers where residents and businesses are invited to dump bottles and other plastic containers, metal tins and cans, milk cartons and the like.
Production of packaging on Tenerife exceeds 100,000 tons, but no more than 2,000 tons are collected as waste.
In almost 20 years, the generation of rubbish on Tenerife has increased more the threefold.
From 135,430 tons in 1985, the amount of waste had risen to 620,000 tons last year – 357.8% more – according to an island Cabildo study.
El Rosario plant handled the greatest volume, 218,000 tons, serving the metropolitan area, Candelaria, Tacoronte and Tegueste. Arico was next with 154,000 tons from San Miguel, Granadilla, Vilaflor and others, followed by Arona’s 121,000 tons (Arona, Adeje, Santiago del Teide, Guía de Isora).
Promoting local produce
The Canarian Society for Economic Development SA (Proexca) recently took part in a fruit and vegetable exhibition in Germany
It is the sixith year that the company have attended the event, La Fruti Logistica, which is considered to be the most important event of its kind in Europe.
The most significant development this year, was the participation of ASPROCAN, the Association of banana producers of the Canary islands. Their main objective is to establish a market for the Canarian banana in Europe, especially in Germany and Poland .
Representatives of ASPROCAN had the opportunity during the fair to communicate their worries and doubts over the future of their Canarian produce in Germany with the Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Fishing from the Canarian government.
As part of the event, a promotional day in the Ka de We commercial centre in Berlin was held where both traditional and modern Canarian cuisine was available for tasting along with Canarian wines.
The event was attended by distributors, restaurant owners and representatives from the main television channels of Berlin.
Project proposals submitted by town halls