Make a date in your diary, underline it in pink, Sunday 13 December is the annual Tenerife Walk For Life to support breast cancer. The Spanish and British communities will come together in Playa de Las Americas to walk from Mediterranean Palace to Sal Y Tien, a mere 3.5 kms, starting at 11am.

Why should you be there? Cancer affects everyone, and devastates families, it is no respecter of age, sex or general health, but it can be beaten, and with increased support, the recovery rate will improve even more. Last year around 2,000 people turned out to support the Walk For Life, and some 20,000 euros were raised. The money this year will be split between Spanish cancer charity AECC and Tenerife breast cancer charity Amate.

Coaches will be bringing walkers down from the north, and stages at each end of the walk will present music and commentary in English and Spanish. The dress code for the morning is wear something pink, you might look out of place if you don’t! For more information try the website or call 600821100, you can also register your support at Facebook. This might be the most important walk you ever make.

The Canary Islands government launched their latest tourist campaign in London at the World Travel Market at Canary Wharf’s ExCel Centre, and they grabbed a lot of attention. The showpiece event for the travel industry ran from November 9 to 12 and the Canary Islands were promoted as a whole from a huge 823 square metre stand that cost 430,000 euros.

There were 4 interactive themes to the display, Volcanic Experience, Wellness Delight, Family Welcome and Water Sports Experience. They must have made a good impression, because the organisers voted the stand the best at the show. It wasn’t just inside the hall that the Canary Islands were turning heads, several London taxis were covered in promotional pictures, and Herons Quay Bridge, an important landmark in Canary Wharf, displayed a 50 metre billboard.

There is a further boost to come next year when the British Travel Writers Association will hold their annual AGM in Tenerife during  January. Around 100 influential journalists will attend, as they help to shape the trends for future holidays.

Mainland Spain and the Canary Islands have a big number of regular visitors, some who squeeze in as many holidays as they can, and some who have invested in a holiday home, where they spend part of the year. A Spanish pay as you go mobile phone is ideal for cheap calls when at their holiday home, but a new law may result in you losing that number.

As of November 9th 2009, the Data Retention Act requires that telephone operators register personal details of their pay as you go customers. That mobile that is slumbering in a cupboard in the UK may have already received a text to advise of this change, but will you read it in time.

Thankfully it is possible to get someone to register your mobile SIM card on your behalf in Spain. They will need your details and a copy of the inside back cover of your passport, it’s a FREE service from any Spanish shop that deals with your provider. The clock is ticking, so dig out that phone and if you are not returning to Spain in time to register the SIM yourself, get a friend to on your behalf.

A relatively small island, but bursting with major sporting events, that’s Tenerife, and september has a bumper bundle to offer visitors and long term residents. It starts with the Vuelta Ciclista, a cycle race that starts on the island of La Gomera, before taking in a wipe sweep of Tenerife. That is soon chased by the 2 day Adeje car rally, and the month closes with the Tenerife Ladies Open golf tournament in Costa Adeje.

The Vuelta Ciclista starts on September 2 in La Gomera, before winding through Tenerife to end in La Laguna on the 6th. On September 4th, the days stage will end up in Los Cristianos, a great chance for the good people of Los Claveles to enjoy some of the fun and celebrations.

The Adeje Rally zooms into action on September 11 and 12, and although it visits the neighbouring areas, Adeje will see the best of it. The action is more sedate from September 24, when the worlds best lady golfers descend on Golf Costa Adeje to compete over 4 days in front of the television cameras. Los Claveles is a short trip away, but this time Sueño Azul in Callao Salvaje is in a prime position to pop down and enjoy some top sporting action.

If that all leaves you hungry for more, don’t worry, Tenerife has plenty of action to keep everyone thrilled and entertained.

How best to advertise and promote Tenerife, that has long been the argument, after all to know the island, is to love it. As predicted on this blog a few months ago, CD Tenerife football team have gained promotion to La Liga, and it hasn’t taken long to see the benefits of playing among the elite of Spanish football.

Just prior to this weekends big kick off, a deal has been struck between La Liga and Sky TV to show at least 2 live games a weekend as part of a 3 year commitment, and guess who is first up. Real Zaragoza v CD  Tenerife will go out this Saturday night on Sky Sports 2 at 9pm, other holiday destinations may have paid a small fortune for 2 to 3 minutes in the advertising break, but millions of British TV viewers can watch a 90 minute reminder of the name Tenerife, the away shirts even feature the islands tourism logo.

Winter TV viewers will enjoy watching shirt sleeved crowds cheering on Tenerife as the evening sun sets, all as they crank their heaters up another notch. Here they go, here they go, here they go, down to the travel agents, and they won’t have much trouble thinking of a suitable destination to go and lap up the sun.

Winter – there I’ve said the dreaded word, snow, wind, rain, dark nights, fog, frost. Well that’s one version of winter, but of course, here in Lanzarote and Tenerife, the sunshine life goes on. Now those seeking to escape from the UK winter not so wonderland, have encouragement from the pound, downtrodden but never beaten, the plucky pound is fighting back and stands proudly at around 1.15 euros.

It’s no time for complacency, could do better, that’s the report card on the pound but it is moving in the right direction to assist holiday makers, and given the fantastic beaches, night life and natural wonders, it’s only fair to meet it half way. Across Europe there are signs of the recession coming to an end, and value for money has always been a key driving force with Wimpen Leisure Management. Tenerife and Lanzarote will always be sought after destinations for short and long term visitors, the facilities are in place and the expertise to back them up. now is the perfect time to think about giving the cold winter the cold shoulder.

The Government of the Canaries, together with the Tenerife Tourist Board, hotel association ASHOTEL and the authorities of Adeje and Arona, have set up a committee to fight against the fraudulent activities of Discount Travel Membership Clubs (DTMCs) on the island.

This initiative is a direct result of the conference on the threats posed to tourism resorts by DTMCs organised in May, in which RDO’s Head of Enforcement, Alberto Garcia, called for their eradication. Both RDO and the European Consumer Centre will take an active part in the new committee.

The number of DTMC sales decks in Tenerife has decreased drastically over the past year, thanks to the co-operation of the local authorities, the police and the Enforcement Programme.

DTMCs demand high amounts of money from their clients in return for the promise of huge discounts on future holidays, which often don’t materialise. This kind of fraudulent practice can seriously damage the image of tourist destinations like Tenerife, something the new committee aims to address.

Looks like it’s going to be a hot winter in Lanzarote and Tenerife, and thanks to 39 new Canary Island routes from Ryanair, tourism will be boosted and holiday home owners will find it easier to pop back and forth from the UK and other key parts of Europe.

The winter flights start from October and will be reviewed in March 2010. The new routes split into 8 for Tenerife and 15 for Lanzarote, the Tenerife airports are Barcelona (Girona), Bournemouth, Bristol, Birmingham, Brussels, London – Luton, Madrid and Oporto. For Lanzarote you can add to those, Dublin, Dusseldorf, East Midlands, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Liverpool, London – Stanstead, Madrid and Shannon, but not including Oporto.

The   Ryanair move has been enabled by the AENA, the Spanish airport authority, scrapping airport charges for Spain. It will help to cement the Canary Islands reputation as the place to go for guaranteed winter sunshine.

No matter how comfortable and enjoyable your resort is, you will always feel the pull of the beach. Tenerife and Lanzarote both have a fine selection to choose from, and another clutch of European Union blue flags has just been awarded for cleanliness and quality on many of your favourite bathing places.

In Lanzarote, Playa Blanca has been rewarded, very handy for guests at Las Brasas and Las Casitas resorts. In Tenerife, there is also good news, with Las Vistas beach in Los Cristianos adding to its annual collection of blue flags, very tempting to those staying at Los Claveles. Playa la Arena on the west coast is another beach that is no stranger to these awards, and is just a short stroll from Las Rosas and El Marques.

In total, the Canary Islands have been awarded 38 blue flags this year, a fitting reward for the efforts put in by the local councils. Of course if sea and sand don’t appeal to you, all of our resorts have excellent swimming pools with full services close to hand.