Created by architects from around the world, Tenerife has from this week green houses with the latest eco-friendly design. These houses have solar thermal installations, photovoltaic panels, and vegetables’ gardens.

From this week, anyone who wants to experience life in a house free of CO2 emissions and help in the collection of data about their daily energy consumption, and the advantages and disadvantages they offer to its inhabitants will be able to do it in the south of Tenerife Island.

Facing the Atlantic Ocean in a natural setting worthy of a visit, is located the urbanization called La Granadilla, owned by the Technological Institute of Renewable Energies (ITER). It is composed by a total of 25 detached single-family houses separated more than 10 meters one from each other in a plot of land of nearly 50,000 m2 facing south (first of a series of passive solutions to improve energy efficiency), designed by architects from around the world.

The Technological Institute is the entity in charge of the management of this complex and has established a price for these houses rental that goes between 200 and 300 Euros the night. It has to be pointed out that these are houses with several rooms, a bioclimatic design and located in an exceptional island which makes the price sound much better.

The aim of this bioclimatic houses complex is to rent the houses for a short term, “we don’t want to turn these houses in permanent residences because changes would be made to them”, explains Maria Delgado, architect of ITER, adding that it is not exactly a resort.

The target audience is scientists, technicians and test groups interested in living in these houses for a while and contribute with their feedback to improve, if necessary, the facilities of each house. In fact, a few days ago, even before having an active website, the institute received several research group bookings.
Pioneers

When the green houses market didn’t exist yet and when no development plan included the “sustainable” label, the ITER had the idea to launch an international contest to build an environmentally friendly complex.

The project started in 1995, with the aim of “studying the feasibility of a zero CO2 emissions complex.” The innovative proposal caught the attention of 397 architects from 38 countries who presented their proposals.

The jury awarded the project called “La Geria” by Cesar Ruiz-Larrea Cangas and although the intention was to create an homogeneous residential complex “it was decided to construct 25 different houses losing unit but enhancing the opportunities to use the complex as a laboratory”, said Ruiz-Larrea.

The Geria, the Star, the Cube, the Domes are some of the names of the green housing solutions presented by architects from USA, Denmark, United Kingdom, Finland, Mexico, Venezuela, France, Italy and, of course, Spain.

The development of this project has taken 15 years, where the ITER had to contact and ask for the project implementation to each architect, adapt each idea to the Spanish construction laws, discard the superfluous aspects of the designs to adjust them to the budget, and overcome the real estate bubble. These where times where finding a free constructor at a reasonable price was more complicated than now. It was decided to build the houses in groups of five, while for the monitoring system the project benefited from public funding.

The result of this long term project is a “for export” residential complex, which can be reproduced anywhere in the world and can be visited to verify its functioning, because “we must monitor the houses to check how they work, but first of all the houses must be inhabited,” commented Delgado.

Taking advantage of the proximity of the sea and the dry weather, the technicians installed a reverse osmosis desalination plant and a sewage treatment plant, which feed all the houses through three distribution networks. The first network carries drinking water from the desalination plant to the houses. The second one carries the wastewater from the houses to the sewage treatment plant and the third one takes the cleaned water from the treatment plant to the irrigation system.

There is also a unique power distribution network, with a meter capable of measuring on an individual basis both energy production and consumption, distinguishing between the amount that comes from wind turbines or solar panels. The solar panels were one of the requirements for the design, but the wind turbines were optional. Efficient home appliances and light bulbs are other standard solutions throughout the Granadilla complex.
La Geria as example of a eco-friendly house

To see how these houses work, the best is to take a look at the winner project, not only because of this quality, but it represents the entire urban complex.

César Ruiz-Larrea was inspired by a typical Canary industrial building called ‘la Geria’ and he decided to recreate its structure. The building is made using volcanic rock, which isolates the wind and maintains a degree of moisture in the ground.

Ruiz-Larrea followed the requirements for the project using environmentally friendly materials and adapting his design to the environment. “In each planning it must be taken into account the location and reflect on the traditional architecture solutions. The technological culture has brought us too much and unnecessary energy consumption” explained the architect.

This house has 123 m2 and 2.7 meters high. It has three bedrooms, kitchen, lounge, two bathrooms and two large porches on both north and south facades. The building also has a 124 m2 vegetal roof to cool down the house. This green roof is made using a variety of rosemary that requires very little irrigation. The thermal solar system is also installed on the roof and it is composed by two solar panels that feed a 300 litres tank that provides hot water to the house. The power supply is provided by 14 photovoltaic panels, whose annual production is estimated at around 3,910 kWh.

“The wood used is FSC certified and filtered rainwater is used in the shower.  The house also has a vertical vegetables garden in the kitchen for the inhabitants consumption”, explained Ruiz-Larrea.

Besides, the building has passive systems such as an independent soil forge ground isolated and sensors that measure the temperature at different heights on the walls and ceilings, moisture, flow of air and CO2 emissions.
To learn more about or to make a reservation to stay at this eco- friendly complex please contact casas.bioclimaticas@iter.es

http://www.larazon.es/noticia/8669-se-alquila-casa-bioclimatica

The municipality of Adeje has focused in Canary theatre for this 13^th edition of the Theatre and Dance Festival. The event was presented to the press by the regional councilman of culture, Epifanio Díaz Hernández.

Mr. Díaz Hernandez was accompanied by the director of the Theatre of Adeje, Laura Marrero and the directors of the theatre companies Juan Reyes from Teatrofia, Severiano García from Delirium Teatro and Amauhuy Calayanes and Diego Lupiáñez from Abubukaka.

“Our main goal is to support the theatre plays created and performed in the Canary Islands because we consider that they have a high degree of professionalism and they are an attractive offer not only for Adeje, but for the entire southern region of the island”, said the councilman of culture.

The directors of the theatre companies acknowledged the support provided by the city council to theatre and arts that allowed continuing with this festival even in these times of economic crisis.

The festival will be presented every Friday and Saturday at 9 p.m. at the Cultural Centre of Adeje until the end of November. This Friday, the theatre company of the municipal school of Adeje will be presenting “Salvajes” and on Saturday, the theatre company Teatrofia will be presenting the play “Keaton”.

Helena Turbo Teatro will be presenting “Romances Canarios” and it will also be performed “Los zuecos van hacia sus buenos hábitos” by the dance-theatre company Nómada. The rest of the plays include “Fresa y chocolate” by Euritmia Cultural, “La konkista de Canarias” by Delirium Teatro and “Drácula” by the company Danceart. The festival will end with the play “Burricias” by the theatre company Abubukaka.

http://www.abc.es/agencias/noticia.asp?noticia=574871

The councilman for Cultural Infrastructure and Events, Hermógenes Vera, has said that 150 people have registered in the 1^st Love Festival, which will take place in Adeje (Tenerife) between the 5^th and the 7^th of November. Mr. Vera commented that those who may be interested in participating in this festival can still register at the ‘Centro de Desarrollo Turístico Costa Adeje’. The registration fee is 95 Euros.

The festival is addressed to single people over 30 years old who want to find a couple. The activities will start on Friday 5^th of November at 5 p.m. when the participants will go from the tourist development centre to the España square to be officially welcomed to the event.

At 7 p.m. the participants will arrive to the Callao Sport Hotel, and one hour later they will leave heading the Spa Aqua Club Thermal where they will enjoy a session in the thermal circuit as well as Asian massages, all these in an chilled out environment accompanied with a glass of champagne, and a plate of chocolates and tropical fruits.

On Saturday, the day will begin with a ‘surprise’ activity. At midday, the participants will enjoy a thematic lunch that consisting on a Hawaiian party at the hotel’s swimming pool. In the afternoon, women will participate in a beauty session and men will prepare for the banquet that will take place at the ‘Centro de Desarrrollo Turístico Costa Adeje’ which will include guest artists, a music show and other surprises.

The last day of this love festival includes a new thermal circuit at the Callao Sport Hotel’s Spa and sport activities in the swimming pool of the hotel. The closure of this festival will consist on a barbeque party.

http://www.canarias7.es/articulo.cfm?id=187922

The Sir Anthony Hotel, located in the Mare Nostrum Resort hotel complex in Tenerife has been awarded with the Certificate of Excellence 2010 by Tripadvisor.

The hotel was officially opened in May after a complete renovation and it has received a rating of four and a half out of five by its guests. The Certificate of Excellence 2010 by Tripadvisor is an acknowledgement to the professionalism of the hotel’s staff and the attachment to their maxim, which according to the manager of the hotel, Julio Cid, has been “to offer a tailored service to the guests intended to provide them unforgettable experiences with charm and sensitivity”.

The reviews left by the users of the Tripadvisor website confirm that Sir Anthony Hotel is the ‘most popular’ five stars hotel in Playa de las Américas. Besides, more than the 85% of the reviews on the website rated the hotel as excellent or very good and the 92% of the users have recommended it.

This certificate strengthens the image of Sir Anthony Hotel, which was also the winner of the ‘Hotel Renovation Award’ given by the municipality of Arona in 2009, and the ‘Tenerife Tourism Award 2010’ given to Antonio Mestre for his contribution to the hospitality industry development in Tenerife South as well as for his commitment to hotels’ renewal, his innovative vision and his pursuit of a quality leisure offer.

http://www.eldia.es/2010-10-26/economia/32-web-TripAdvisor-concede-Hotel-Sir-Anthony-Tenerife-Certificado-Excelencia.htm

The municipality of Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife Island is planning to adopt within six months a plan to recover tourism through the implementation of the ‘Tourist Recovery Corporation’. The construction works to be included in the plan will be focused in the improvement and renovation of facilities and equipment of urban tourist space, maximizing the tourism resources of the town.
In addition, it will serve to diversify the range of accommodation and leisure activities offered in the city and the tourist information services. Private investments will be encouraged for the renovation of buildings and commercial establishments and for the renewal and implementation of leisure activities.
“This new corporation will be a fundamental tool to achieve that competitive destination image demanded by tourists,” said the Councillor of Tourism for the Government of the Canary Islands Rita Martin, who valued that the archipelago has become the only Autonomous Community that counts with two tourist recovery corporations.
The total investment for the implementation of the Tourism Recovery Corporation for Puerto de la Cruz will be assumed by the Government of the Canary Islands, which will contribute with 2 million Euros, Turespaña, which will bring another 2 million Euros, the Council of Tenerife, with 1.5 million Euros, and the City Council of Puerto de la Cruz, with the contribution of 300,000 Euros.
The administrations that took part in the signature of this agreement by which the recovery plan will be got under way, have unanimously agreed to approve this initiative which seeks a significant improvement for the municipality. The agreement shall remain in force until the conclusion of the actions contained in the plan, or at least until December 31^st, 2013, regardless of the continuity of the corporation.
The councillor of tourism insisted yesterday on the relevance of “continuing working together with all the tourist industry community as we have done so far” and she added that, “it is the only way to make possible that potential tourists have confidence in our enormous potential and decide that the Canary Islands are the perfect tourist destination for they holidays”.
Rita Martin commented that Puerto de la Cruz was the first resort in the Canary Islands and a model for many other municipalities which have followed its example in developing the tourism sector. “I am convinced that the Tourism Recovery Corporation will boost tourism and business activities in this city”, she said.
The plan’s drafting will take into account the participation of the private sector of the city, represented by the most significant businesses related to tourism and commerce.
The Tourism Recovery Corporation is developed within the Spanish Tourism Plan Horizon 2020 and the Agreement for Competitiveness and Quality of Tourism in the Canary Islands 2008-2020.

http://www.laopinion.es/tenerife/2010/10/20/proyecto-ambicioso-recuperar-turismo/309973.html

The protection and recovery of the marine ecosystem and the protection of endangered species are the central themes of a pioneer project conducted by the “Asociación por un Océano Sostenible” in the area known as “El Puertito”, located in the municipality of Adeje, Tenerife.

This project is developed by the municipality of Adeje in association with the “Asociación por un Océano Sostenible”, an environmental association founded in 2009 for the recovery of the submarine area known as “El Puertito de Adeje”.

One of the first actions taken by this association was the Lima urchin (diadema antillarum) population control in “El Puertito” bay. The sea urchins population control has allowed the recovery of the seaweed prairies in the area and has brought back animal species that are essential for the welfare of this marine ecosystem.

Representatives of the environmental organization have said that the presence of seaweeds “has allowed the recovery of populations of different vertebrate and invertebrate species that had disappeared from this submarine ecosystem. The presence of new seaweed prairies has favoured the appearance of green turtles (which are an endangered species) in the area and had allowed scientists to study these marine reptiles”.

Apart from green turtles, other marine species have returned to “El Puertito” bay since the Lima urchin population has been controlled. Scientists have found harlequin crabs, rays and angel sharks among others species, which are difficult to find in other areas of the Canary Islands.

The presence of these species has increased the interest of tourists in diving tours and has become an added value for this municipality.

Likewise, the sustainable ocean association will get under way the development of a marine classroom in “El Puertito” area. To do that, the organization is waiting for the authorities’ permission to fence 100 square metres of the bay. This will allow the implementation of other protection and conservation programs for the recovery of this marine ecosystem and to develop educational activities to foster environmental awareness about marine ecosystems. The establishment of a restricted area will not interfere with the bath areas or with the fishery activities. Fishermen from this coastal town will have special channels to access the bay without interfering with the environmental project.

The tourist information offices network from Tenerife (Infoten) will celebrate their five years of services next Friday 22^nd of October during their seventh congress. The event will take place at the Taoro Conventions Centre in Puerto de la Cruz.

Infoten is part of the Tenerife Tourism Corporation and it was created after the association of regional tourist information offices, the tourism initiative centres, and the visitors’ centres to follow a set of quality, image and information homogenization and standardization regulations in order to provide quality information services to the tourists that arrive in the island. The Infoten network is devoted to provide tourists information about leisure activities and events and also to improve the tourist image of the island to encourage visitors to return to Tenerife.

The 7^th Infoten congress will include a series of talks about issues related to the tourist industry as well as workshops and debates.

After five years under the direction of the Tenerife Tourism Corporation, the Infoten network now manages a standardized database of tourist information thanks to the implementation of an intranet search platform that allows the staff of Infoten to access updated tourist information online. Besides, the Infoten network offers a standardized image in terms of facade colours, office design and staff uniforms. On the other hand, the personnel of the Infoten network receive continuous training regarding new tourist products and tourist trends.

During the first half of this year, the Infoten offices attended a total of 451,164 tourists, a 7.8% more than the previous year. The Infoten network is formed by 34 offices distributed in the island’s territory. The office that received more visitors was the one located at Puerto de la Cruz, with 108,803 tourists.

The councillor of Tourism and CEO of the Tenerife Tourism Corporation, José Manuel Bermúdez, said that after five years of work “we have achieved high quality customer service standards that are reflected in the number of tourists that visit the Infoten offices”. The councillor added that apart from the implementation of standardized information and image, five of the offices have achieved the “Q” label for quality service.

Regarding the nationalities of the tourists that have used the Infoten offices, the Spanish tourists where the ones that have used them most (160,694) followed by German tourists (101,996), British tourists (93,673) and French tourists (27,542). Among the information inquires the most common were maps and brochures requests, information about routes and bus lines, leisure activities and tours, cultural events, and paths for hiking.

Visitors can find brochures and guides in four languages (Spanish, English, German and French) that include information about restaurants, cultural tourism, cruises, family tourism, hiking and more.

The Infoten database is fed by the personnel of the 34 offices who upload information about each municipality including events and news among others. This way, all the offices access a homogenized and comprehensive information database about the tourist offer of the island.

The development of the Infoten network has caused a notorious improvement in the tourist information services of the island. According to the CEO of the Tenerife Tourism Corporation the next step is to reach national and European quality certifications.

http://www.diariodeavisos.com/2010/diariodeavisos/content/31644/

The Irish airline Rynair announced yesterday the cancelation of the new route between Marseille and Tenerife South due to the closure of their base in Marseille’s airport by the French authorities. The measure will also affect other connections between the French city and ten Spanish destinations including Madrid, Sevilla and Valencia.

The decision was taken after the French authorities reported Ryanair because the employees that were working for this airline in Marseille since 2006 were subject to work contracts ruled by the Irish law. The airline stated that their base in Marseille “fulfils the European regulations regarding international air transport, which allows employees from a determined airline to pay their income taxes in the country of origin of the airline”.

“The French authorities disagree with this argument and they consider that the employees must pay their income taxes in France instead of Ireland, although this decision is against the regulations established by the European Union”, said the representatives of Ryanair.

The president of the Irish airline said that, “the decision of the French authorities was imprudent because it has caused the loss of 200 jobs and the closure of thirteen connections, apart from the loss of foreign investment and the decrease in the number of tourists that visit Marseille. Michael O’Leary added that from January 2011, the airline will move the aircrafts from Marseille to Spanish, Italian and Lithuanian airports.

The president of the hospitality industry association in Tenerife (Ashotel), José Fernando Cabrera said to the newspaper El Día that he believes that the connection between France and Tenerife programmed by Ryanair won’t be cancelled but postponed until January 2011. Mr. Cabrera commented that they have high expectations about the French market and that in the next weeks Iberia and Air Europa will get under way their direct flights connecting Paris to Tenerife.

http://www.eldia.es/2010-10-14/ECONOMIA/0-Ryanair-cancela-nueva-ruta-Tenerife-Marsella.htm

Seven Spanish hotels are competing in different categories for the Most Excellent Awards organized by Condé Nast Johansens which will be presented next 8^th of November at the May Fair Hotel in London.

Among the Spanish hotels nominated for this Condé Nast Johansens Annual Awards for Excellence are: Hotel Termas Marinas el Palasiet (Valencia) for the Best Value for Money award, Gran Hotel Bahía del Duque Resort (Tenerife) for the Most Excellent Resort Hotel award, and the Spa Barceló Asia Gardens Hotel&Thai Spa (Valencia) for the Most Excellent European Luxury Spa Hotel award.

The other Spanish nominated hotels are: Palacio Casa Galesa for the Most Excellent Luxury Guest House, Hospes Palau de la Mar (Valencia) for the Most Excellent Hotel for Design and Innovation, and the last two ones are the Barceló la Bobadilla (Andalucía) and the Hotel Duquesa de Cardona (Cataluña) which are nominated for the Condé Nast Johansens 2011 Readers’ Award.

Condé Nast Johansens in association with Corinthia Hotels will be also presenting the Most Excellent MICE Award that recognizes hotels and venues that have capability for large numbers of guests and over 100 rooms as well as those which have room for large number of guests and less than 100 rooms.

The nominees for these awards are listed in the 2010 guide published by Condé Nast Johansens. During this year, guests and inspectors from different regions have evaluated these hospitality businesses.

The jury has selected those hotels that have received the highest punctuations in the quality questionnaires filled by the guests and those which nominations were proposed by the inspectors.

http://www.que.es/las-palmas/201010141148-gran-hotel-bahia-duque-resort-epi.html

The four throw has been the lucky one for the Spanish team that has won the Tenerife Beach Volley Champions Cup. The couple formed by Pablo Herrera and Adrián Gavira defeated last Sunday the French brothers Kevin and Andy Ces at the court located in the Siam Park’s auditorium. The French couple was finalists in 2007 against Russia, being one of the most famous couples in the European beach volley championships.

The championship was live broadcasted by Teledeporte and several European online sports channels. The female championship that was the novelty for this year didn’t brought any surprises and the number ones of the European women beach volley were the Germans Sara Goller and Laura Ludwing who defeated the Austrians Stefanie and Doris Schwaiger.

The trophies where handed over by the representatives of the institutions that sponsored this championship: Dámaso Arteaga, Councillor of Sports for Tenerife, Marcos Barrera, councilman of Sports for the municipality of Adeje, Fenando Gómez-Pamo, Chief Director of the Additions Support Program within the Government of the Canary Islands, Javier Giménez Vázquez, representative of Iberia Airlines, José Ramón Martínez, representative of Schweppes and Emmanuel Richardet from the Sheraton Hotel La Caleta. According to José Manuel Bermúdez, councillor of tourism for Tenerife and Miguel Ángel Santos, “this event has become a classic in the Canary Islands sports calendar”.

http://www.rtvc.es/deportes/espa%C3%B1a-logra-levantar-la-tenerife-champions-cup-59066.aspx