Tenerife has topped Cosmos Holidays sales chart with a 60% increase year-on-year, report traveldailyco.uk

Majorca, last year’s number one, is now fourth in the sales list with Florida and Turkey before it.

Other Canary Islands have seen bigger rises in sales, particularly Fuerteventura (250%), Gran Canaria (100%) and Lanzarote (40%).

Menorca

The Algarve, Menorca, Shaem el Sheikh, Zakynthos and Mexico are also within the top ten.

“Whilst early booking trends indicated that this summer was all about the Eastern Mediterranean, the improved strength of the Pound against the Euro has resulted in a last minute surge of bookings to destinations throughout the Western Mediterranean and the Canary Islands,” said Monarch Travel Group Tour Operations Managing Director Hugh Morgan.

“After the challenges of the past 12 months, confidence has clearly been restored in the market and it’s great to see holiday durations lengthening from last year’s seven and 10 night durations to the traditional 14 night breaks.”

The best advertising is recommendations from previous users, and to win an award that comes about as a direct result of your guests saying you provide great service is one worth winning - and that’s what’s happened for twenty of Tenerife’s hotels.

Organised by Thomas Cook Holidays, the awards recognise excellence, and it’s judged by actual guests at hotels who share their experience with the company via a Customer Satisfaction Questionnaire.

As well as awarding the best hotels it allows the company to keep on top of which hotels they use are perhaps not performing as well as others, and being able to make sure the hotels in Tenerife they offer are the best in the travel industry.

Some of the hotels that won awards are already well known to tourists, and in Playa de las Americas for example include the Bitacora and the Hotel Sol.

Los Cristianos is another well known resort popular for Tenerife holidays, and winners include the Paradise Park, Arona Gran and the Los Alisios apartments, while the Barcelo Santiago picked up honours from their hotel in Puerto de Santiago.

The Iberostar’s two hotels in Tenerife’s Costa Adeje both were among the winners, along with the Gran, ensuring all the popular areas for tourists from the UK and further afield were well represented and showing that the island is capable of providing great accommodation in different locations and it’s not just the Tenerife weather that attracts tourists.

Thomas Cook Holidays whose clients made the nominations are one of the UK’s best known travel companies, along with First Choice and Thomson.

For those who haven’t been before, the Tenerife weather is often near perfect on the southern half of the island for a holiday, while the northern half offers lush greenery and beautiful vistas. The cities are always full of life, and the glorious view of Mount Tiede, Spain’s highest point, is one many tourists remember from past visits.

For specific areas, Thomas Cook Holidays offer good information on their travel site about each one, but some of the less known areas are:

Icod de los Vinos (just Icod to the locals) is Tenerife’s premier wine-growing region. Daily life in Icod moves at a more relaxed pace than some other places on the island. If you visit Icod, be sure to visit the Dragon Tree that the locals say is thousands of years old. The beautiful Playa San Marcos with its inviting black sand can be found nearby.

La Laguna is a good place to stay if you enjoy art and architecture, and is more suited for adults than family holidays. The Cathedral dates back to 1515, and there are many interesting churches to explore. The city was once the capital of the island and still bears the regal air of an important place.

Los Gigantes is a city at the foot of massive cliffs which bears the same name. The picturesque marina offers boat trips for dolphin and whale watching, while the town has a good choice of bars, restaurants and shops while out and about.

For more information including press releases visit yourtenerife.net

The Independent in the UK ran a good article about Tenerife recently. Here’s an extract:

The southern shore of Tenerife is a place of constant fascination for me. Certainly, the rocky coastline has been much built-upon. Yet even around Playa de las Americas and the other resorts that cluster together, you can find patches of shore where shoulders of rock shrug off man’s attempts to colonise the island. And another conurbation, Los Cristianos, provides options for escaping the crowds and enjoying the coast from the best perspective: the sea. Frequent fast ferries shuttle between Los Cristianos and San Sebastiá*de la Gomera. In less than an hour, you are transported between the intensively developed shoreline of southern Tenerife and the diminutive main town of La Gomera – virgin territory for many visitors to the Canaries, with virgin forest draped over the hillsides. Even if you delve no deeper than the nearest bar in San Sebastian before hopping on the next sailing back, you will develop an appetite for the archipelago’s shores. And, should dolphins opt to race the boat back to Tenerife, you get an aquatic wildlife experience added on as these mischievous mammals jive in the bow wave.

Way over east, take the opportunity to contrast the shores of the unidentical twin islands of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. The main resort in the north of the latter, Corralejo, has a certain harsh beauty – and a handy jumbo-sized catamaran waiting to grant you a seaborne perspective. As Fuerteventura retreated, I could properly appreciate the meaning of the word “windswept” – and why, with rocky shores washed by sparkling seas, the island is such a hit with watersports enthusiasts. Ahead, Playa Blanca provided a welcome to an island that still has a secret shoreline: Playa Papagayo, almost deserted when I was there, is protected by a barricade of rock and is hard to reach by road.

The best approach, as the astute yachtsman who drifted into the bay demonstrated, is by sea. Nevertheless, for the land-based shore explorer, Lanzarote’s resorts are compact and artfully arranged around the coast, especially the exquisite Puerto del Carmen – where cafés and restaurants perch on the very edge of the shore, while palm trees trespass on to the fingers of rock that extend towards the ghostly shape of Fuerteventura. You can see where César Manrique, Lanzarote’s late, great artist in residence, found much inspiration. To read the full article click here

For more information about Tenerife, including a Tenerife map 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

Los Cristianos Tenerife

A top European holidays destination, Tenerife attracts millions of tourists from Britain, Germany and Scandanavia every year for a week or two’s holiday.

But the island’s tourist authorities believe they could attract more visitors if they could improve her image - especially in Britain - and they are probably right. In the UK a holiday in Tenerife is often seen as a cheap alternative to better places in Europe, and sometimes referred to as the Blackpool of Spain.

But while that might have been true in the eighties and nineties, it’s not true today as the island has spent millions of Euros improving her infrastructure and ensuring tourist facilities are among the best in Europe.

And the island has the benefit of great weather all year round, and while some holiday areas close down for the winter months, Tenerife is in full swing as many people head there because of the good Tenerife weather.

If the island’s image can be improved it will certainly boost visitor numbers as people consider Tenerife holidays instead of their past favourites as a destination to be explored - or when the economy picks up as a winter holiday possibility.

Pensioners taking extended Tenerife holidays wintertime is a boost for the island’s economy, as they spend money on everday essentials during a two or three month stay as well as holiday items, and more would certainly be welcome as the economy starts to gain ground.

But once people decide on a holiday, where should they head for the island - and what can they expect there?

The Tenerife weather is near perfect on the southern half of the island, and the northern half offers lush greenery and beautiful vistas. The towns are full of life, and the glorious view of Mount Tiede, Spain’s highest point, is breathtaking. Tourists who enjoy nature will enjoy a trip to the well known famous Teide National Park, home to Mount Teide. Whether you visit Tenerife in summer or in winter, the park has great landscapes and breathtaking mountain views.

La Laguna is a great city for those who enjoy art and architecture. The cathedral and museum date back to 1515, and there are many churches to explore. The town was once the capital of the island and still bears the regal air of an important place.

Los Gigantes is a city at the foot of massive cliffs which are also named Los Gigantes. The marina offers boat trips for dolphin and whale watching, while the twon centre has a good choice of bars, restaurants and shops.

Los Cristianos is located on the southern coast - a relatively small town, with a resident population of about 12,000 provides tourists a more private, relaxed atmosphere than some of the larger resorts on the island. Its humble beginnings as a fishing village are still evident in some areas.

But for those looking for a sun holiday with a good beach, Tenerife has plenty of blue flag beaches to relax on.

For more details about Tenerife including 2010 holidays visit yourtenerife.net - news, articles plus tour operators with offers on flights and holidays are available.

Music legends on holiday can often help a destination if the paparazzi get their photographs, with the tabloids frequently devoting a double page spread of the people and location involved.

And so it turned out for Tenerife when Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster visited the island earlier this year.

Rod staged a sell-out concert in Adeje mid May and stayed on the island with Penny for a few days break after the show.

The show consisted of over two hours of Rod’s classics, including ‘Some guys have all the luck’ and ‘Sailing.’

But apart from the publicity generated for Tenerife by Rod’s concert itself, there had been speculation in the British media over Penny Lancaster before their arrival on the island, and whether she was pregnant.

The newspaper speculation began when they attended the Chelsea Flower Show - and Penny was wearing what was described as a ‘loose printed floral dress.’

But pictures of Penny in her bikini poolside in Tenerife nailed the rumours, along with helping the holidays in Tenerife business as it showed Penny and Rod clearly enjoying themselves and relaxing - a good advertisement for holidays in Tenerife if ever there was one.

But apart from the good Tenerife weather that appeals to holidaymakers year round is there on the island for visitors, and what are the popular areas?

Tenerife features a dozen Blue Flag beaches. These beaches are evaluated for cleanliness and their environment friendly operation. Tenerife offers visitors five national parks for hiking, bicycling and walking. The scenery is unique and gorgeous.

History buffs will like exploring the ancient Pyramids of Guimar. These fascinating six-step pyramids weren’t formally discovered until 1998. The structures have an amazing resemblance to the Aztec and Mayan pyramids found in South America. There are six of these pyramids across the island. The locals dismissed these structures as piles of volcanic ash for centuries. http://www.yourtenerife.net say it wasn’t until specialists removed the debris and the structures were cleaned up that the world realized what an archeological find the island offered.

Icod de los Vinos (just Icod to the locals) is Tenerife’s top wine growing region. Daily life in Icod moves at a more relaxed pace than some other places on the island. If you visit Icod, be sure to visit the Dragon Tree that the locals say is thousands of years old. The beautiful Playa San Marcos with its black sand can be found nearby.

La Laguna is a great city for those who enjoy art and architecture. The Cathedral and museum there date back to 1515, and there are many breathtaking churches to explore. The city was once the capital of the island and still bears the regal air of an important place.

Los Gigantes is a city at the foot of massive cliffs which are also named Los Gigantes. The picturesque marina offers boat trips for dolphin and whale watching.

Los Cristianos is located on the southern coast of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. A relatively small town, with a population of about 12,000, it offers tourists a more private, relaxed atmosphere than some of the larger resorts on the island. Its humble beginnings as a fishing village are still evident in some areas of Los Cristianos.

Whatever part of Tenerife you choose to holiday on, the island can be as carefree or adventurous as you want.

For photographs of Tenerife visit flickr.com

Tenerife

The busiest two months of the year for Tenerife holidays almost over, but sometimes the best time to take a holiday in Tenerife isn’t July or August, but September or October - especially for those without children of school age who can choose when to take their holidays.

A late summer or early autumn visit is good for holidaymakers who appreciate the beaches being less busy than the peak summer months - it’s also possible to get the table of your choice at the restaurants, and the service is often better as the restaurant staff are serving less people.

And the weather in Tenerife is astonishingly good most September and Octobers - usually in the 70’s farenheit during the day - good enough for swimming in the sea or an outdoor pool.

But apart from the good weather in Tenerife and less people around, what is Tenerife like for those who haven’t been before and might be considering a late holidays in Tenerife?

A visit to Aquapark will be a hit with children. They will especially love Dolphin Lake where the popular dolphin show takes place. The thrill is multiplied with the number of rides and water slides available. Adults too can find a lot to keep them entertained for hours.

For those holidaymakers who enjoy time on the beach, Tenerife has twelve Blue Flag beaches. These serene stretches have been analysed and evaluated for cleanliness and environment friendly operation. Away from the beach, Tenerife offers visitors five national parks for hiking, bicycling and walking. The scenery is unique and gorgeous.

The island features two predominant areas for visitors to enjoy. The southern part of the island offers the warm temperatures and tropical settings. The northern part of the island is smaller and less populated with milder temperatures. Visitors can find high quality man-made beaches around many of the large resorts.

Tourists who wish to enjoy the natural beauty of this tropical paradise won’t want to miss Tenerife’s world famous Teide National Park (Parque Nacional de las Caadas del Teide), home to Mount Teide’s 48 K. circumference volcanic crater. Whatever time of the year you decide to visit it’s not just the weather in Tenerife that is a good attraction - Teide National Park boasts gorgeous landscapes and breathtaking mountain views and is clearly marked on any good map of Tenerife.

Another of Tenerife’s natural tourist attractions are the Cliffs of the Giants. These astounding rock walls drop from heights of 500-800 feet almost straight down into the sea. Tourists can soak in the sights from one of the restaurants and other viewpoints located across the small bay in the resort town of Los Gigantes. They may opt for an up-close and personal look at the massive rock faces by taking a tour boat across the bay.

History and archeology buffs will appreciate the Pyramids at Guimar. Archaeologists first dismissed their discovery as mere stone terraces similar to others across the Canary Islands. It has since been proved that the pyramids were authentic ancient structures akin in design and craftsmanship to those in places like Peru and ancient Mesopotamia. The pyramids now attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year to marvel at their expert construction.

History, water parks, the weather in Tenerife, the beaches, shopping or nightlife…whatever the reason an autumn visit to Tenerife could be just the tonic before facing up to some cold weather at home.

More information and travel articles plus reviews of the hotels in Tenerife are available by visiting yourtenerife.net

Tenerife Holidays - It's Not Just The Great Beaches...

Canary Island Tenerife has prospered along with much of Europe in the last twenty years, and has built itself a reputation as a great place for a holiday.

So successful has Tenerife’s promotions been as a holidays destination that a significant part of the island’s economy and employment is based upon tourism - and any drop in visitor numbers hits the local population in the number of people employed and the amount of money available to locals to spend.

So the news that tourist numbers have dropped so far in 2009 by over ten per cent compared to last year is not just bad for Tenerife - it’s appalling.

But even with a drop of over ten per cent in the number of people taking holidays in Tenerife this year, the numbers do look impressive and give rise for future hope - nearly 300,000 tourists chose Tenerife for a holiday in January for example.

What can holidaymakers expect when they choose the island, apart from the great weather in Tenerife?

You can find anything in Tenerife that you would expect to find in a European tourist location. There are water parks, theaters, golf courses, restaurants, shopping and much more. Tenerife does have its own particular flavour, though, and even with all of the European influence on the island it is unmistakably Tenerife.

Tenerife’s capital city is Santa Cruz, which boasts a population of over 220,000. It is titled the island of the ‘Eternal Spring’ because of its agreeable climate.

The variety of activities and excursions on this island is impressive. Hot air balloon tours are available, as are Jeep tours. Tenerife offers countless animal attractions and a lush botanical garden.

Tenerife hosts the celebrated Loro Parque - an impressive zoo with animals from around the world in natural settings.

Tenerife also features large water parks for families. The available swimming groups and scuba diving schools can provide a wonderful session of training for those who long to swim in the clear waters.

The volcanic activity has created a unique sea floor that scuba divers enjoy year round. Mount Teide offers visitors a glimpse from the highest elevation in the region. This towering mountain rises over 3,700 meters above sea level. You can quickly go from the comfortably warm temperatures on the sandy beaches to throwing snowballs atop this peak.

The island features two predominant areas for visitors to enjoy. The southern part of the island offers the warm temperatures and tropical settings. The northern part of the island is smaller and less populated with milder temperatures. Visitors can find high quality man-made beaches around many of the large resorts.

Tenerife features a dozen Blue Flag beaches. These serene stretches have been analysed and evaluated for cleanliness and environment friendly operation. Tenerife offers visitors five national parks for hiking, bicycling and walking. The scenery is unique and gorgeous.

There’s so many reasons to visit Tenerife for a holiday, and if you’re considering your family holidays at the moment, it could be a great summer to visit as there are less holidaymakers than normal on the island.

British people, as elsewhere, are facing a recession but also dealing with the declining value of the pound. Banks have lent out too much money. Unemployment is up and manufacturing is down. The current recession is likely due to the credit crunch, combined with the falling price of houses. Britain hasn’t experienced this kind of economic situation since the recession of 1991.

Despite trying times, they aren’t willing to give up their holidays. Instead, British consumers are using the recession to get cheap deals on holidays.

Cheap Holidays for British Tourists

Spending the holidays taking in the sand and sun of beaches on the Mediterranean or taking in the history of a distant country has become second nature to British consumers. In the past, trips to Spain, Turkey, New York and Florida have been pricey. The Internet has helped holidaymakers create less expensive travel plans though. Holidays that used to break the bank are now becoming more affordable. 76 percent of Brits who travelled overseas got a great deal on their last holiday.

Here are a few ways to ensure a good deal on your next trip:

* Check out package deals and all-inclusive plans. Booking your flight, hotel and meals together can usually save holidaymakers time and money.

* Check for cheaper flights at odd times. Catching the red eye isn’t part of an ideal holiday, but it is more affordable and allows holidaymakers to save money and still be able to travel.

* Out of season destinations can be great value and the weather in Tenerife for example is good all year round.

* Compare currency from one country to another to see which destinations are most economical to visit.

* Travel during off-peak months. June and July are peak travel months. Plan a holiday in the off-peak times to get a better deal.

* Look for special offers. Many travel websites offer a deal of the day with cheap fares. For holidays in Tenerife for example visit yourtenerife.net

* Book last minute deals on flights and hotels. If airlines and resorts aren’t booked already, they offer better deals at the last minute to fill their empty spots.

* Locate discount tickets to area attractions before you go. Theme parks and other attractions frequently offer discount coupons and tickets online. A quick search for these can make an otherwise expensive family excursion more affordable.

Using the Internet to Find Cheaper Holidays

Things have changed in the travel industry since holidaymakers have access to the Internet. It relieves the need for a travel agent. You can save money by cutting out the middle man and searching for your own good deal. Now you can book holidays right from the comfort of your own home. You can compare prices of hotels, villas and flights from one site to another. Gaining access to pictures, reviews, prices, hours, maps and more allows consumers to make informed decision about where to book their next holiday.

Now British holidaymakers can compare prices on various travel expenses, decide where their money is best spent and figure out ways to save money. A quick search on the Internet provides a list of travel options that fit in a tight budget. The economic downturn that Britain is experiencing isn’t expected to be long term. Next year is expected to be a year of recovery. Until then, Brits continue to find cheap deals for their holidays in Europe, including holidays in Tenerife

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