Booking holidays in Tenerife online is becoming more popular as time goes by, and one internet site says:

“High Street Travel Agents such as First Choice who have now joined forces with Thomson Holidays has cut down on the number of Hotels they are offering and instead concentrating more on a select number of hotels which would be easier to fill. Instead of bringing down the prices of holidays for 2010 they have instead increased the prices even though in my opinion they will struggle to sell holidays next at these high rise prices due to the credit crunch and also with the world cup being on.”

The cheapest offerings for Holidays at the present moment are Tenerife if booked separate. With airline prices being low to Tenerife and hotels in Tenerife offering great reductions more and more people are now understanding that they can save hundreds of pounds by booking cheap flights and booking hotels without the need to go to their travel agents.

To read the full article click here

For more information about Tenerife visit http://www.yourtenerife.net

Time moves on…

In the eighties video killed the radio star, and as technology has advanced it’s not just industrial businesses that have been affected, but retail too, with shops having to adapt to the new world with on-line offerings as well as trying to maintain High Street positions.

And there can’t be many retail specialists with a physical presence on the UK High Streets that have been more affected by the advent of the internet and new technology more than the travel sector.

A High Street travel agency will typically stock brochures for a multitude of destinations, display late offers in its window, and run a foreign exchange bureau, as well as booking holidays and travel insurance for clients.

But more than this travel agents can give personal advice on most holiday destinations as they recount their own holiday experiences, and in bigger shops most popular destinations would have at least one if not two people working there who have visited where a client is thinking of, and pass on personal knowledge as well as advice on which resorts and hotels might be best.

But now this information, and far more than one or two people can give, is available to anyone thinking of booking a holiday via the internet.

Good or bad, reviews of hotels are available on specialist internet sites where ordinary holidaymakers are free to give unbiased advice on a hotel, the staff, surroundings, and what to expect.

The travel sites with reviews can be really up to date as well, often from people who have just stayed in a hotel, and people thinking of booking a hotel don’t have to rely on advice which however well intentioned could be years out of date, and with several reviews to go on a good overall picture can be built up of how well a hotel is performing, and if looks like it could be suitable before booking a holiday.

Tenerife is a good example of where the internet can win over traditional High Street travel agents. Need a Tenerife map for example to see where attractions and your hotel is on the island. It’s easily found on search engines or on sites like Thomson Holidays and Thomas Cook Holidays.

Want to know what the Tenerife weather is like right now, with a 5, 7 or 10 day forecast? A multitude of internet sites will let you know in an instant.

Everything you want to know about your location is available in seconds, and gives a complete picture of what to expect and what can be planned for your Tenerife holidays.

Is the High Street travel agent needed anymore? As more people get computer literate the less a tradtional travel agent is going to be needed in the future. Today’s children will turn to the internet as a matter of course when they are old enough to book their own holidays - replacing the older generation which has a smaller proportion booking holidays online.

Perhaps the answer is for traditional estate agents to do what Thomas Cook Holidays and Thomson Holidays are doing - keeping a presence on the High Street while also having a good internet site that does everything holidaymakers who use the internet site expect a holidays site to provide.

For more details about Tenerife visit http://www.yourtenerife.net which includes holiday deals, news and travel articles

We saw an excellent article by Marjory McGinn in the Herald in the UK. Plenty of articles are written and published about Tenerife, including by ourselves, but we think Marjory’s is one of the best we’ve seen for a long while.

Here’s an extract:

Like most people at this time of year we are in Tenerife for the sun and the sea; the temperature is hovering around 70F.

The best beach we find in the Puerto de Santiago area is Playa de la Arena, a wide clean black sand beach with a playful surf most days.

So that’s where we drop anchor day after scorching day, swimming when the sea isn’t too rough and when it is - and the red danger flags are flying - we play it safe and enjoy the charming machismo of young lifeguards blowing their whistles and frog-marching foolhardy Brits out of the water.

But after a whole week on the beach, it feels like time to explore further afield. We drive into the interior because our guidebook promises something different - volcanic landscapes, mountain villages, and a hairy drive to reach them.

You get a taste of the contrasts of Tenerife on the drive up from the airport. While much of the coastal region is a scramble of sugar-cube apartment blocks, and luxury hotels in Moorish colour schemes, a few miles inland from the motorway and dark, jaggy volcanic ridges loom over the hinterland with primeval promise.

We drive up to the Teno Mountains at the north-western edge of the mountainous central region that includes a national park and the highest peak in Spain - Mount Teide (3718m), an extinct volcano whose summit can be reached by a short cable car ride from the park centre at El Portillo.

We head for the remote village of Masca. Although the asphalt road here from Santiago del Teide is newly built, it is narrow and roller-coaster scary in parts and there are hairpin bends hovering over steep-sided ravines (with sturdy crash carriers at least), but it’s not for those who don’t enjoy left-hand driving at the best of times, or killer hill starts.

To read more of the article click through to the Herald here

For details of flights and hotels in Tenerife click through to expedia

Tenerife attracted nearly 2.5 percent more visitors in 2008 than 2007, and with 2009 just begun, projections for another good year of tourism are surprisingly high.

Nearly 300 Tenerife holiday representatives met in mid January. Discussions included developments and improvements that will continue to draw tourists. An article in the Tenerife News stated, “The island plans on regaining its status as the crown jewel of the European tourist market. One of the major plans for the island is to present it as one giant theme park.”

According to public statistics, 5.45 million tourists visited the island in 2007. Of those, almost two million were from points across the UK. BAA reports that Tenerife is one of the most popular destinations for tourists flying from its Scottish airports. Increased traffic to and from the UK can be attributed to lower cost air fare offered by several UK based companies including Thomas Cook. Flights to Tenerife from many European destinations are a mere 3 to 5 hours and acceptable travel time for even a weekend getaway.

Tourism during a Global Recession

Under normal circumstances, people love to indulge themselves. The average family makes time for at least one holiday per year.

The recession that became apparent and inevitable last year has caused major corporations and several industries to fail. The tourism industry, however, is not one of those anticipating bankruptcy. According to a poll conducted in 2008, consumers do not intend to forego their yearly family holidays because of the decline in economies around the world. Those who enjoy a yearly getaway plan to continue them. Some tourists indicated they would simply plan less expensive holidays and look for great packaged holiday deals - and they could be right as not just Thomas Cook but Thomson Holidays have been offering some great deals recently.

The Canary Islands are among the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Of the Canaries, Tenerife is the most popular among families and those looking to fill their agenda with theme parks. Siam Park is the newest and largest addition to Tenerife. The park offers fun and sun in an eco-friendly environment.

Las Americas is another theme park on the island, which offers a twice-daily dolphin show in addition to many other park attractions. Shopping in Santa Cruz and the promenade in Los Christianos is a favourite pastime for those visitors who enjoy buying special gifts from their island getaway.

Los Cristianos in Tenerife

The Beginning of Tourism in Tenerife

In the late 1950s, doctors in Europe discovered that a yearly vacation to warmer climes could improve the health of their patients. According to some travel articles a week’s holiday would be recommended to help relieve stress or encourage patients with arthritic ailments to be more mobile. The warmth of the island temperatures helped aching joints and muscles while improving the mobility of the patient. Over-stressed patients could relax in the temperate climate and let the crystal blue waters wash away the worries of everyday life. Shortly thereafter, mass tourism became popular for adventure-seekers around the world.

Tourism to Tenerife itself was almost non-existent in the 1950s due to the depression brought on by the Second World War. Tourism began with wealthy visitors arriving by steam ship.

The 1970s saw the beginning of a new era for the Canary Islands; an era of fast-paced tourism and world-wide popularity. The first tourists sought high-scale, ritzy accommodations, and by the mid 1970s the resorts of Las Americas, Los Cristianos and Los Gigantes were under way. According to blogs written by tourists they are seeking the same relaxing and ritzy atmosphere.

For those who have spent a good bit of time touring Spain’s beautiful countryside, you may not know that in many ways the country is one big vineyard. In that respect it is very much like California’s Napa Valley and Sonoma County. It is hard to drive for more than a few minutes in any direction without seeing vineyards. The same is true for most regions of Spain.

Spain has been producing wine off and on for nearly 3,000 years. Excepting a big gap between 711 A.D. and 1492 A.D., when conquering Islamic Moors outlawed wine production, it has mostly been on. In fact Spain introduced vineyards to the Americas. Spaniards sent the first cuttings to Mexico in the 16th century. By 1701 vines and cuttings were sent to Baja, California. It took until 1830 for the vineyards to work their way up to Sonoma County, thanks largely to the Spanish missionaries who also built a series of missions from south to north in California.

The American wine industry might have taken root and established itself then. The problem was that the grapes being grown were so high quality that Spain, fearful of losing out to the upstart vineyards, ordered all cuttings to be uprooted. Wine making in California ceased abruptly and did not resume until the late 19th century.

Spain clearly has an illustrious history of wine production. Despite its efforts at self preservation, it did early on nurture growth in the New World. It is surprising that it lagged for so long in producing wines that rival the best that Europe and America have to offer. Spanish wines remained fairly provincial well into the 20th century. One reason is that while the Spanish exported its vines and cuttings and even imported varietals from other countries, it took new methodologies in wine production that just had to be developed. In some cases, one or two key vintners in various wine regions in Spain completely transformed the types and quality of wines coming out of the region, thanks to new methodology.

About 10 years ago everyone began to notice that Spanish wines were beginning to look quite good. More to the point, some regions were producing very high quality wines. An American vintner of Spanish ancestry, Jean Leon, was among the first in Catalonia to grow foreign grapes in the region. With 275 acres of cabernet and chardonnay grapes, Leon produces about 25,000 cases of long lasting intense wines. And Leon’s story is being repeated in region after region.

The proof of the pudding lies in a trip to the local wine store regardless of where that store is located. There are of course the good standby wines that Spain has always produced, what might be referred to as good table wines. They are fairly inexpensive but suitable. In addition, however, more and more outstanding Spanish wines can be found on the shelves.

In the past few years notable Spanish wines that have wine lovers talking include the following:

* Vitas Terrarum winery in the La Mancha region that has produced a top of the line red. A 2001 Vitas Terrarum sells for $75 a bottle and is considered a good rival of other higher priced reds.

* Reserva Oro Seco from the Penesdes region is a crisp dry bubbly that has garnered a good bit of attention, perhaps because it is both very good and very inexpensive.

* From the same vineyard, 1998 Gran Reserva Hill is a full bodied red produced with a blend of cabernet sauvignon, tempranilla and syrah grapes that is a steal for about $26.

* Vina Mambrilla in the Ribera del Duero region produced an outstanding red, their 2000 Alidas Crianza, to which the Wine Spectator gave an 89 rating. Many believe it was underrated; at about $22 per bottle it also is a steal.

There are other measures of where Spanish wines are going. Spain’s tourist destinations, like Tenerife, have always featured Spanish wines in hotels and restaurants. The excellent Tenerife weather certainly helps. In the past, most of the Spanish wines offered were good enough but not the outstanding quality that fine dining often requires. Now it can pair extraordinary Spanish wines with inventive cuisine. The wine recommendation, still imminently affordable, elevates both the food and the dining experience. The result is a memorable event that sends patrons in search of fine Spanish wines in their local wine stores back home, wherever they live.

Could there be any good news among the economic gloom for holidaymakers in 2009? Happily there is - hotel prices in Spain and her islands like Tenerife have come down in price and could fall further.

The British media seem to warn everyday that there’s no money in the economy, that no-one has any money, and if any does have money they certainly aren’t spending it. This is often reported from shopping malls with hundreds of people laden down with shopping bags walking past the journalist. And so it has been with the travel industry - people aren’t booking holidays, and if they are it’s not in the Eurozone areas including Spain, but to Turkey, Egypt and Morocco.

But other reports on the travel industry state that the most popular holiday destination in Europe will be Majorca - again - and inside the Eurozone. So what is the state of play for the holidays market in 2009, and if you book a holiday in Europe for this summer will you be the only one in the hotel and on the beach?

A nice prospect perhaps, but not likely.

For people are still booking holidays in their thousands, indeed in their hundreds of thousands and by the time summer is here in their millions. And there is an upside among the economic gloom for those who are going on holiday in 2009 - prices for hotels in Spain are dropping. Not as much as the pound has dropped against the euro for British tourists, but drop it has.

Hotel room prices across Spain as an average fell by some eight per cent in summer 2008 compared to the previous summer, with some areas doing far worse than others. Ibiza for example dropped a massive thirty six per cent, and on the Costa del Sol just over twenty. Overall hotel rooms averaged a hundred Euro a night, while in the UK for example it stood at 128 Euros, showing Spanish hotels to be pretty well priced.

So for people who still have some money in the bank and fancy a break or holiday in Spain, 2009 could be a good year to do it with prices coming down. And if you can’t wait until the summer, what about a winter holiday? Holidays in Tenerife are popular this time of year, and there are some good holiday deals out there at the moment.

For British holidaymakers Thomas Cook Holidays for example have 7 nights in Tenerife for around GBP 230 a person, including flights and accommodation - and the weather in Tenerife is often in the 70’s during the winter time. So, despite the gloomy economic outlook, there’s still some great holiday bargains to be had for 2009, and prices are as good as they’ve ever been.