7c Marketing

In these lean times for tourism, local Ayuntamientos (councils) have to do everything they can to attract more holiday makers. Take a bow Santiago del Teide, they have installed free Wi Fi access on Playa de la Arena beach, not a bad incentive for visitors who want to, or have to keep in touch with friends or business.

Up to 15 users at a time can log on at Playa de la Arena between 10am and 6pm in the summer and 10am and 5pm in winter, all they have to do is ask any of the beach guards for the access numbers. It might not seem a monumental move, but what counts is that the council are willing to try something different to meet the changing needs of their market.

It could be good news for beachcombers too, if any British MP’s are over on holiday, they are sure to leave their laptop behind on the beach, all they have to do then is clear off all that non sensitive information like address’s of all the missile sites and launch codes, and they can put their own information in.

Nice to see some serious attempts at marketing in Tenerife’s tourism industry. According to John Beckley, the Abama Hotel spent hundreds of thousands on this video, and it shows. Not only does it show the Abama in a great light, it’s fantastic promotion for the island. Who wouldn’t want to visit Tenerife after watching this?

We can all do our bit. Let’s try and find more of these high-class videos and use them on our sites/blogs to promote the tourism industry.

What a bunch of cynics we are, not because we want to be, it’s just that the politicians over here in Tenerife make it so hard for us to compliment them. So it gives me great pleasure to say well done to Santa Cruz Ayuntamiento for coming up with a great idea. How do you solve a problem like the bull ring? No they aren’t going to have a reality TV show with premium rate voting, although I’m sure that will soon be the way they conduct public projects in the Uk. Santa Cruz council are holding an open competition to come up with a great design for the Plaza de Torros, which has just been left to slowly rot for the last 20 plus years.

Architects have 20 days to submit their plans and on July 4, 5 and 6 they will be displayed to the public in the Parque Garcia Sanabria, just down the road from the bull ring. The public will be able to comment on the designs and then on July 7, a committee of 13, headed by the mayor, Miguel Zerolo, will give their verdict. What happens then will be very interesting, as plans have been unveiled before and come to nothing, but at least this gives the public a chance to get involved in the fate of this iconic building.

Im April, I was shown round inside the bull ring and told a little of its history, see my blog http://www.colinkirby.com/news/santa-cruz-a-bulls-eye-view.htm . I hope the winning design preserves at least some of the original features of the building, but I fear commercial interests will lead to its final destruction, but at least the process offers some hope to the grand old stadium.