British Guild of Travel Writers 2010Annual General Meeting 26th to 29th January

Tenerife Tourism Corporation

Tenerife Press Dossier 2010

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Contents:

Introduction:Tenerife,theperfectescape

PracticalinformationandCuriosities

Waystoenjoytheisland

EventsandFestivals

AnoverviewoftouristareasinTenerife

Tenerife,theperfectescape

Tenerife is theperfectplacetoescapefromthestressesofeveryday life.Year

roundsunshine,diverselandscapes,idyllicbeachesandcharmingvillagesmake

Tenerifeanidealholidaychoice.Travellerscanchoosefromavarietyofquality

accommodation,leadingspafacilities,worldclassgolfcoursesandanendlesslist

ofthingstodo.Justfourhoursaway,Tenerifeguaranteesanenjoyableholiday

foreveryone.

KnownastheIslandofContrasts,Tenerifeoffersanarrayofuniqueexperiences

andfunactivitiesthroughouttheyear.FavouritesincludesailingintheAtlantic

Ocean,whaleanddolphinwatching,divingandsnorkelling,ajeepsafarithrough

theTeideNationalPark,winetastingandsavouringdeliciouscuisine.

Adventure travellers canexplorehidden treasures suchas“HellsGorge”, trek

throughthesubtropical forest“Bosquede lasMercedes”,discoveroneofthe

world’slargestlavatubesorevenclimbthemajesticMountTeidewhichstands

at3,718metreshigh.Surroundingthis iconicpeak is theTeideNationalPark,

recentlydeclaredaWorldHeritageSitebyUNESCO.

PracticalInformation

Tenerife is the largestoftheCanary Islandsandsharescapital statuswiththe

islandofGranCanaria.Setwithinasubtropicalclimatezone,Tenerifeboastsyear

roundspringtemperaturesandanannualaveragetemperatureof23degrees

centigrade.

- TenerifeislocatedinthenortheastoftheAtlanticOcean,justover300

kmoffthewestcoastofAfrica

- The island is located in a subtropical climate zone and it has pleasant

springtemperaturesyearround

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- Theaverageannualtemperatureis23degreescentigrade

- TheislandofTenerifecoversatotalsurfaceareaof2,057Km2

- Thepopulationisapproximately865,070inhabitants

- MountTeide is thehighestpeak in Spainand it is setwithin themost

visitedNationalParkinSpain

- Over47%ofTenerife’s territory isprotected,occupyinga total surface

areaof969.24Km2

- Tenerifehastwo internationalairports;ReinaSofiaAirport (south)and

LosRodeosAirport(north);andoneofthelargestportsforcruiseshipsin

Spain

Interestingfacts

- Tenerifeisthethirdlargestvolcanicislandintheworldanditisover10

millionyearsold

- TenerifeispartofMacronesia,anareaofspecialinterestintheAtlantic

Oceanbecauseofitsrichbiodiversityandexistingendemicspecies

- WineproductionwasintroducedinTenerifeinthe15thcenturyandtoday

theislandproducesafineselectionofaward-winningwines.Thefamous

Malmseywineor“Malvasía”wasoneofShakespeare’sguiltypleasures

andwasconsidered“tocheerthesensesandperfumetheblood”

- Tenerifeisoneofthebestspotsintheworldforstargazing.Visitorscan

seetheMilkyWayandmanywondersoftheouterspacesuchasnebulas

andshootingstars

- Tenerifewaschosenasakey locationforthefilmingoftheremakeof

“ClashoftheTitans”,thefilmisduetobereleasedinMarch2010

- Five of the seven existing species of turtles in the world live around

Tenerife’s coast (Loggerhead, Kemp’s Ridley, Green, Hawksbill and the

LeatheryTurtle)

- Thewarmtemperatures,richmarinelifeandcrystalclearwatersaround

Tenerifearehometopodsofpilotwhalesandbottlenosedolphins.Visitors

canenjoyseeingthesefriendlymammalsthroughouttheyear.

Waystoenjoytheisland

LuxuryandWellbeing

Tenerife Selectoffersaportfolioofdeluxehotels and resortsofferingquality

accommodation, services and leisure facilities. The criteria for admission is

extremelyhigh;hotelsareobligedtoachieveandmaintainaveryhighlevelof

satisfactionamongtheirguests,whiletherestaurantsareevaluatedbyagroup

ofrecognisedexpertsingastronomy.Asignificantnumberofnewspaandluxury

hotelopenings in the last coupleof years aswell as refurbishments andnew

hotelfeatureshavecontributedtotheexpansionofTenerife’sluxuryoffering.

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Watersports

Sunshineandseatemperaturesrangingbetween17and25degreescentigrade

invite visitors to enjoy the seaside and water sports. Three hundred and fifty

kilometresofcoastlineoffersgreatlocationsforwindsurfing,surfingandkite-

surfing.Theislandalsohasmodernmarinas,awiderangeofleisurefacilitiesand

excellentdivingclubs.

Familyfun

Thereareplentyoffunactivitiesavailableforchildrenatanytimeoftheyear.

Someinclude:

- Beaches:goldenbeaches,volcanicshores,tranquilcovesandnaturalsea

waterpoolsprovidewonderfulseasidesettings.Besidesanamplerange

ofwatersportsandfacilitiesavailablealongthecoast,familiescanenjoy

theswimmingfacilitiesoftheLagoMartianezLidoinPuertodelaCruz.

- TeideNationalPark:familiescanexploretheUNESCOWorldHeritageSite

on foot,ona jeep rideor sitbackon thecable carwhileenjoying the

stunningvolcaniclandscapefromtheheightsofMountTeide

- CamelridingatCamelloCentre(ElTanque)ordonkeyandponyridingat

theOasisdelValleinLaOrotavavalley

- Whaleanddolphinwatching:excursionsarearound3hoursandinclude

asnackonboard

- Themeparks:

Ø LoroParque:(PuertodelaCruz)

Ø SiamPark(CostaAdeje)

Ø PuebloChico(LaOrotava)

Ø Aqualand(CostaAdeje)

Ø ParquedelDrago(IcoddelosVinos)

Ø ParqueLasÁguilas–JunglePark(Arona)

Ø ParqueEtnográficoPirámidesdeGüímar(Güímar)

Ø ParqueMarítimoCésarManrique(SantaCruz)

Golf

Tenerifeisanidealdestinationforgolfamateurs.Yearroundsunshine,excellent

golffacilitiesandspecialisedhotelsmakeTenerifeanidealdestinationforgolf

amateurs.Severalofitsgolfcourseshavehostedinternationaltournamentssuch

astheTenerifeLadiesOpen,whichhasbecomeoneofthemostimportantgolf

eventsinSpain.BritishFelicityJohnsonwonthevictoryaftercompetingagainst

120professionalplayers.The8theditionofthechampionshiptookplaceinGolf

CostaAdejefrom22–27September2009.

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GolfcoursesinTenerife:

- Abama

- AmarillaGolf

- BuenavistaGolf

- CentrodeGolfLosPalos

- GolfCostaAdeje

- GolfdelSur

- GolfLasAmericas

- RealClubdeGolfdeTenerife

DiscoverHip&TrendyTenerife

Tenerifeisfastbecominga‘hot’destinationforthehipandtrendytravellerwho

seekstostayinboutiquehotels,dineoutatchicrestaurantsandsipcocktailsat

stylishbars.ThesetravellersarediscoveringadifferentsidetothispopularCanary

IslandwheretraditionalCanarianculture,localfoodandwine,andcuttingedge

architectureanddesignareprovingabigattractionforthoseseekingamore

upmarket and stylish holiday. Tenerife has plenty of five star hotels and the

number of boutique style hotels is increasing, especially in the lesser known

northern region. The island’s capital, Santa Cruz is also one of its ‘best kept

secrets’andthoseseekingvibrantnightlifethatismostdefinitelySpanishshould

plananightoutinthecity.TheNoriaDistrictisthenewestandcoolestpartof

towntoheadforthehippestbars.Itisalsopopularamongfamilies,asthereisa

friendlyandwelcomingenvironment.

Gastronomy

Tenerifegastronomysuccessfullycombinestraditionalrecipeswithcontemporary

flavoursusingfirstclasslocalproduce.Traditionalcuisineischaracterisedbyits

simplicity,qualityandfreshnessofingredients.Visitorscanenjoyanexcitingchoice

oftypical restaurants inwhichtosamplethe island’sdeliciousspecialitiesthat

includesweetblackpudding,meatcasseroles,sardines,friedchorizo,octopus,

freshfishand shellfishand ‘papasantiguas’ servedwith ‘mojo sauce’. ‘Papas

antiguas’or‘ancientpotatoes’areagourmetdelicacyuniquetoTenerife;small

potatoescookedintheirskinsandservedwithaspicygreencorianderorared

chillipepper‘mojo’sauce.Othertraditionalproductsinclude“gofio”,cheeses,

chestnuts,Palmhoneyandpricklypearjam.

Events&Festivals

TownsandvillagesinTenerifecomealivethroughouttheyearwithnumerous

celebrations, festivals and Romerías (lively pilgrimages held in honour of the

VirginMaryoralocalPatronSaint),manywhichstemfromreligiousroots.One

ofthemostpopularannualfestivalsisthevibrantTenerifeCarnival,whichtakes

placeinthecapital,SantaCruz,inFebruary,priortoLentandhasbecomeoneof

Europe’sbiggeststreetparties.Thismagnificentparadeissospectacularthatit

rivalsRioinsplendour,sizeandglamour.Eachyearadifferentthemeischosen,

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embracinganythingfromAncientEgypttoDisneycharactersandbothvisitors

andlocalsareencouragedtojoininthefun.

Othereventsandfestivalsinclude:

- CorpusChristiFlowerCarpets(LaOrotava)

- FiestadelCarmen(PuertodeLaCruz)

- RomeriadeSanRoque(Garachico)

- HeartsofTejina(Tejina)

- FiestadeSanAndrés(IcoddelosVinos)

- InternacionalParaglidingFestival(LosRealejos)

- “CrucesyFuegosdeMayo”(LosRealejos)

- TenerifeBeachVolleyballChampionsCup

- InternationalJuniorSurfCompetition(LosRealejos)

- FolkFest(Arona)

- MiradasDoc–InternationalFestivalforShortMovies(GuiadeIsora)

- FiestadelVolcán

- FiestadelaAlmendra(SantiagodelTeide)

AnoverviewoftouristareasinTenerife

SouthofTenerife

SouthTenerifeistheholidayareawiththelargestnumberofhotelsandapartments

on the island. It is the regionblessedwith themost sunshinewithmanywell

knownattractionsandeasyaccesstogoldenbeaches.Italsoboastspicturesque

villagesthathaveretainedtheirtraditionalambienceandstrikingcountryside,

ideal for sports and outdoor activities. There are a wide range of night time

leisureoptionsplusmanyhighqualityshoppingmallssellingallthetopbrands.

PlayadelosCristianos,PlayadelasAméricas,CostaAdeje,LosGigantes,Puerto

Santiago,LasGalletasandElMédanoarejustafewofthekeyresorts.Frommany

oftheseholidayhotspotsaredailyboattripstoseedolphinsandpilotwhales

thatliveinthesewaters.

PuertodelaCruz–ValledeLaOrotava

SituatedinNorthTenerife,inavalleyofoutstandingnaturalbeauty,isPuertode

laCruz.CombiningthedistrictsofPuertodelaCruz,LaOrotavaandLosRealejos,

itisoneofSpain’sfirstholidaydestinations.Itisacosmopolitantownwithawide

rangeofhotelsandverypopularforsightseeingandshopping.InLaOrotavaand

LosRealejosthereareplentyofcountryhousesforrent,oldbuildingstoexplore

(theoldquarterinLaOrotavaisaNationalHistoricMonument)andarangeof

outdooractivities.Onthecoastaresuperbbeaches,theoriginalMartiánezsea

bathinglakecomplexandtraditionalfoodandhandicraftattractions.

IslaBaja

In Tenerife’s far north west is the Isla Baja region comprising the districts of

Buenavista del Norte, Garachico, Los Silos and El Tanque. The villages have

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preservedalltheirtraditionalcharmandthevarietyoflandscapesandarchitectural

wealthmake it anoutstandingdestination foroutdooractivities. Thenarrow

cobbledstreetsinGarachico,theisland’soldcommercialcapital,boasttheFine

ArtsGoldMedalfortheirhighlevelofconservationandantiquity.Throughout

IslaBaja,aresmallcovesandrockpoolsandtheextraordinaryTenoRuralPark

offersgreatoutdooroptionstoenjoythebeautyandcalmofthecountryside.The

mosttypicallodgingsinthisareaareruralhousesandsmallboutiquehotels.

SantaCruz–LaLaguna

From a geographic and urban standpoint, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and San

CristóbaldeLaLagunaarelinkedandtogetherformthemostdenselypopulated

areaonTenerife.SantaCruz is the island’s capital.University townLaLaguna

hasthestatusofaUNESCOWorldHeritageSite.Botharehighlyrecommended

forstrollingandshopping,samplingthelocalcuisineandenjoyingthebestof

culturalevents.Thecity’stopeventsvenueistheAuditoriodeTenerife,designed

bySantiagoCalatravaandlocatednexttoSantaCruzharbour.Itoffersawide

rangeofconcerts,danceandshowsthroughouttheyear.Thisareaalsooffers

beaches,swimmingpools,theAnagaRuralPark,andisasuperbstartingpoint

forvisitingtherestoftheisland.

Top10thingstodoinTenerife

- JeeptourroundtheTeideNationalPark

- CablecarrideupMountTeide

- Whalewatching

- WindsurfinginElMedano

- SiamParkwaterkingdom

- LoroParquewildlifecentre

- HikingintheTenoRuralPark

- Cavingthroughvolcaniclavatubes

- Winetasting

- TapasroutesinthehistoricaldistrictofSantaCruz