News in Brief -

News in Brief

Arona giving grants
The municipality of Arona, through its Board of Social Services, chaired by Clara Maria Perez, is offering financial support through grants to organisations, partnerships, institutions, and non-profit entities to conduct their activities in the municipality of Arona, in order to "promote and support projects and workers, welfare and socio-economic integration.”
Perez said that the basis for the granting of aid will be, "the projects that the municipality will finance should strengthen solidarity, cooperation and social responsibility, and ultimately," all those initiatives, non-driven profit by promoting an improved quality of life of citizens, as well as increased social welfare and the prevention of the causes that lead to marginalisation. "Recipients of these grants may be non-governmental organizations or associations and foundations non-profit, which must meet certain requirements, such as having headquarters and develop their activities in the municipality of Arona, the statutes have been duly registered and that its objectives are promotion of collective rights of children, women, disabled, family and immigrants, amongst others.

Applications for grants must be properly completed before August 9 at the premises of the Municipal Board of Social Services (Arona town) or any of the SAC offices in the municipality, located in Arona, Las Galletas and Los Cristianos.

Arona is social networking
The municipality of Arona last week joined the social networking site Facebook, according to Arona councillor for New Technologies, Antonio Miguel Garcia Marichal.
The aim of joining the popular networking site "is to open a new window of communication between local institutions, residents and visitors to our town," said the councilor.
Marichal noted that Facebook is one of the largest virtual communities, which brings together about 500 million users worldwide, which makes it "an ideal tool to provide timely and detailed information on each of the activities carried out and initiated by the municipality."
"This initiative is part of the Modernisation Plan in which this council is immersed, another of the objectives is for it to become a new way for users to make their suggestions, contributions and comments.

 
 

The World Cup

The real trophy will be on show in the Tenerife Cabildo in the Plaza de España in Santa Cruz this weekend on the 31st July and 1st August, from 10am until 8pm. If you do visit you are asked not to spend too long looking at it so as to allow everyone to get a glimpse. People will be allowed to touch the cup, but not lift it.

 

Troya to be open to traffic

The councillors for Area Tourism Policy of Adeje, and the Councillor for Safety and Mobility of Arona Miguel Angel Santos Cruz and Manuel Gonzalez Reveron, respectively, agreed last Wednesday July 28th that the currently pedestrianised area outside the Hotel Troya in Playa de  las Americas will reopen to traffic.

The decision was taken following the recommendations of the technical reports issued by both town halls. The agreement calls for the reopening of the ‘Troya Bridge’ to traffic with restrictions on tonnage, after completion of the works in the Avenida V Centenario, as well as work remodeling on Avenida Calle Venezuela and Panama.

The u-turn decision comes after various studies of traffic and mobility within the area. No date has been given as to when the area will be specifically open to traffic.

 

Spanish inflation rises

Spanish 12-month inflation rose in July to 1.9 percent from a year earlier, preliminary data showed last Thursday, its highest level in nearly two years.

In a statement, the national statistics institute INE attributed the July increase on higher prices for food, non-alcoholic beverages, gas and package holidays.

Inflation in June had dipped to 1.5 percent after three months of rises.

The July figure was the highest since November 2008 when Spain entered into a recession. It also followed an increase of two percentage points in the sales tax that came into effect on the first of the month.

During the first quarter Spain became the last of Europe's big economies to emerge from recession, with official data showing fragile growth of 0.1 percent.

Spain slipped into its worst recession in decades at the end of 2008 as the global financial meltdown compounded a crisis in the domestic property market, which had been a major driver for growth.

The recession pushed first-quarter unemployment up to more than 20 percent.

 

 

Palmex tropical thatch based on the real thing

 

SOME Tiki bars, hotels and lounges have a special design that captures a person’s eye. Maybe it is because of the unique roof, made out of thatch.

 

Many hotels around the world have used the same concept to give certain areas a more tropical feel. Those on the hunt for thatch have Palmex to thank.

 

Palmex International Inc is the first producer of synthetic tropical thatch. This modern material, based on the real thing, was designed to revolutionise roofing by creating a permanent substitute for the majority of natural leaves used throughout the world.

 

David Reveret, the company’s Vice-President, says the leaf from such trees as the Pala Palas, Pandanus and Palma Cana have too short a lifespan to be considered a profitable, long-term investment.

 

The thatch produced by Palmex is more durable and gives the same look as the endangered leaf. The company guarantees durability, water-tightness and UV protection because of its unique, patented solution.

 

Mr. Reveret, whose company is located in Quebec, Canada, said: “Our imitation thatch is recyclable and 100% waterproof. The real leaf can last up to five years but our thatch can last more than 20.

 

 “It is long-lasting and customers get more for their money. Nowadays, that is a good thing.”

 

The company offers three varieties of leaves, along with a selection of accessories adapted to all customers’ needs. Requests are manufactured in Canada to high-quality standards and subjected to rigorous testing.

 

Palmex leaves and accessories comply with construction norms, investor expectations, and individual needs.

 

Mr Reveret said Palmex International has more than 22 distributors around the world and is now looking to expand to the Canaries.

 

He understands that the country has a rich tourism industry and that hotels, and even regular individuals, would enjoy adding this look to their roofs.

 

“This is one reason why the company is seeking a regional distributor for the islands,” he said. “Our goal within the next few weeks is to find a distributor in the Canaries who can represent us.

 

“Our business has been going very well, and we would love to expand to the Canaries very soon.”

 

The Palmex International executive adds that the product is available to hotels, commercial buildings and individuals.

 

From a simple chalet to a complex residential project, through hotel complexes, Palmex also assists customers with their products’ maintenance and longevity.

 

Thatch is also available in a “fire-retardant” version, which completes the range of security compliant models to suit specifications within the majority of countries and regions.

 

Mr. Reveret said: “Palmex is proud to be the first manufacturer to introduce an alternative roofing material with such exceptional quality, which guarantees to cover a wide range of uses and applications.

 

 

 

Plaza Pedro García Cabrera
Almost 200,000 euros has been invested to rehabilitate the area Pedro García Cabrera square in Los Cristianos
The Mayor and councillor of Works, of the municipality Jose Alberto Gonzalez Reveron and Ramon Garcia, respectively, recently visited the rehabilitation work that the municipality is performing in the area of the Plaza Pedro García Cabrera in the tourist resort of Los Cristianos.
The work focuses primarily on the steps attached to the plaza, since "it serves the residents as access to the upper area of Los Cristianos.
They explained that the works are to" improve the stairs, placing a center rail, attaching railings, and creating a small sitting area, which is always necessary in tourist environments to enable residents to enjoy the area.
The work includes demolishing the existing pavement and steps and planters, raising new concrete walls, which are then covered with natural stone slabs of mixed colors.  In addition, placing a new natural stone pavement at the landings and in the rest area, plus installing a ramp.
The budget for this work is 196,425.09 euros and has an execution period of four months.

 

 

 

15M island investment

The Island Councillor for Economic Development, Efrain Medina, held a meeting in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce and the Directorate General for Trade.

The Cabildo of Tenerife has committed to boosting trade and has planned a total investment of 15 million euros until 2015 for island commercial revitalization.

The Island Councillor for Economic Development, Trade and Employment, Efraín Medina, highlighted at the opening ceremony of a workshop for commercial revitalisation that "commercial driving forces are a key element in keeping a business alive and eager, and this activity is part of the economic history of the island."

Efraín Medina added that "the Cabildo’s  future commitment to open trade areas has resulted in major investments like the 15 million euros in the period 2002-2015 for works and other services. This year there have been other investments to entrepreneurship (1.2 million) commercial revitalisation (600,000 euros) and training (136.000 euros). This has resulted in the activation of some areas of trade that are the envy of other areas so much so that they want to copy this initiative. "

The CEO of Commerce, Government of Canary noted that "the commercial horizon has good prospects through empowerment, among other measures, shopping areas kept open through investments planned through agreements with the councils. In this regard he recalled that there is already a new budget by the Canarian Government amounting to 32 million euros, corresponding to Tenerife a total of eight million euros based on the contribution that the Cabildo has made.

 

Tenerife tops say Trivago
Tenerife is the destination for UK tourists to spend their holiday this summer. That is clear from the analysis of hotel bookings made by the British travel portal Trivago, which places the island ahead of destinations such as Cyprus and Mallorca.
The first vice president and chief Cabildo Insular de Turismo, José Manuel Bermúdez, noted that "it is new good news related to this market in addition to a few days ago, stating that the travel reservations from the British to the Island in the summer had increased by 300% over the previous year, according to British travel portal lowcostholidays.com. The Minister added that "in both cases, it suggests that Tenerife remains the preferred destination, our holiday experience is the strongest in Europe and the promotional activities that are developing in this country are paying off."
According to the classification the ten most popular destinations this summer by trivago.co.uk, after Tenerife, are Cyprus, Mallorca, Gran Canaria, Jersey, Madeira, Key West (Florida, USA ), Hawaii, Lanzarote and the island of Crete.

 

 

 

A Taste of Spain

Organised by the Spanish Tourism Office in Edinburgh the stand – Tenerife - offered more than 30,000 attendees at the festival, some of the delicacies of our cuisine such as mojos and information on some of the attractions of the island, including information on nature and the beach.

The island Tourism director and head of Turismo de Tenerife, José Manuel Bermúdez, stressed the island has always been a popular destination for the Scots.

The councillor said that “the presence of Tenerife at the event has allowed us to show far more than our cuisine, which is a tourist attraction in itself. The variety of options to choose from or our traditions have also been key players in this event.

 A promotion of Tenerife in the United Kingdom have been added during this time to other actions.  This is the case of familiarisation trips to the island for British travel agents specialising in the luxury segment, which have had the opportunity to learn first-hand and offer more exclusive, accommodation, theme parks and all sorts of activities for travellers with  high purchasing power "

Tenerife also has offered, in mid-July, a presentation of the attractions of the destination to about 70 travel specialist media accredited to the meeting of the Association of Tour Operators and Travel Agencies UK Independent (AITO).

Along with this, Tenerife Tourism has responded in recent months to journalists visiting from British media specialists in travel in different segments such as golf, nature and luxury.

 

 

America’s First Lady heads for Marbella

 

MICHELLE OBAMA, wife of the US President, will visit Spain next week, thus ending days of speculation, and contradictory media reports.

 

The White House has confirmed that the First Lady will be visiting the country with her youngest daughter, Sasha.

 

But Barack Obama will not be accompanying them, even though there will be an official visit to King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia.

 

The White House statement said: “The First Lady will travel to Spain for a private, mother-daughter trip with long-time family friends.”
 
Although the dates have not been confirmed, the First Lady will probably travel to Marbella and stay from the 4^-8^th August. And she will sholiday with her daughter at the luxurious Villa Padierna Hotel, in Marbella, on the Costa del Sol.
  
Ricardo Arranz, hotel director, has confirmed that all 40 rooms have been reserved to host the Obamas. But he said final confirmations were yet to be made.

 

 The five-star Villa Padierna Hotel, part of the Ritz-Carlton chain, is considered one of the finest in Spain.