3rd edition of the International Agatha Christie Festival will take place in Tenerife.

From 19th to 27th of November of 2011 Puerto de la Cruz transforms itself into the murder and mystery capital.

This annual festival is packed with themed events including theatre productions in Spanish and English, book presentations, movie shows, guided tours and conferences.

Agatha’s grandson will be one off the special guests, as well as John Curran – Award Winning Author of  Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks.

Check out the programme here.

In these competitive times in the holiday industry it’s good to have an edge to lure potential visitors. Full marks to Las Galletas for recognising the potential of its diving expertise, exciting stretch of unspoilt rugged coast, and a fabulous modern marina. The delightful traditional fishing village just a short hop from Los Cristianos intends to become the diving capital of Tenerife.

Plans have already been drawn up in conjunction with Arona council to promote the wonders of the deep at forthcoming tourism fairs. One of the biggest is WTM – the World Travel Market in London from 7 to 10 November, all the big players from the travel industry will be there and Las Galletas will be looking to reel them in. That’s followed by FITUR in Madrid from 18 to 22 January where more big fish will be looking at the big trends for 2012.

The travel movers and shakers are just one target, Las Galletas is also featured in a 3D short promotional film made for cinemas in France, Germany and Russia. Many holiday makers have gone on to settle in Las Galletas, it combines a traditional Canarian feel with easy access to the big southern resorts Los Cristianos and Playa de Las Americas just along the coast. Have a look at some of the properties available from Crossley Morfitt & Lennox and you will soon be hooked.

EXCLUSIVE to CML. A unique opportunity to acquire a spacious and luxurious villa in a quiet corner of Playa Paraiso.

Set in beautifully landscaped grounds, and enjoying sea views from every window, the current owner has spared no expense on adding individual and unique features to this property, including:

• Master bedroom suite with indoor heated swimming pool

• Large fitted living kitchen with quality appliances and granite surfaces/splashbacks. Separate utility area with a walk in pantry.

• Lift from garage to the ground and first floors.

• Separate 1 bedroom apartment for live-in help.

• Large outdoor swimming pool.

• Electric gates and video entry.

• Underground parking for several cars

The design and characteristics of this property truly make it a ‘one-off’ which needs to be viewed to be appreciated.

If you are interested in this property click here.

TENERIFE Cabildo’s latest tourist numbers in the South were up by 9% in July – and contributed to a 17% rise in the number of people employed in the hospitality sector.

There was a boost for the North as well, with tourist figures shooting up by 13%.

It meant that 4,805 new contracts were secured on the Island in July, with a total of 491.735 visitors arriving.

Provisional data from the tourism statistics depicts growth in all sectors. Carlos Alonso, Cabildo vice-president and Minister of Tourism, said: “The positive actions in the tourist areas, notably the recovery in the North is satisfying.

“We are especially optimistic about the future of Puerto de la Cruz and its potential as a tourist destination.”

In terms of source markets, the British in July recorded a healthy increase of 20.5%, adding to total of 164.167 tourists, while Germany’s figure improved by 4.8%, which was equal to 41.903 visitors.

There were equally positive performance by the French market (up 31.8%), Italian (13.4%) and Russia (32.6%). Other plus figures came from the Netherlands (5.4%), Belgian (10.4%) and Ireland (24.4%).

Only the Nordic market, with a decline of 4.1% in July, showed a negative response.

Article supplied courtesy of Canarian Weekly

Managing director of Spanish-Living.com Adrian Warriner pointed out that the two archipelagos – which include destinations such as Tenerife, Ibiza and Mallorca – have fared better than their mainland counterparts, recording just a 2.5 per cent fall in values over the last year. Real estate in the Canary and Balearic Islands has experienced much lower price drops than in other parts of Spain, it has been noted.

He stated; “This is good if you already own a property there, but not so good if you are an investor looking for a bargain.”

Mr Warriner went on to suggest that those hoping to buy a home in Spain while the market is low may want to consider the Costa del Sol, which has seen average prices decline by more than ten per cent in the past 12 months.

According to the General Spanish Real Estate Index published at the start of August, the nation as a whole saw values plummet by 6.4 per cent between July 2010 and the same month this year.

Regional capitals and large cities experienced a reduction of 7.5 per cent, while metropolitan areas and other municipalities recorded 6.1 per cent and 5.4 per cent falls in house prices respectively.

LORO PARQUE’S unique Two-toed sloth twins – the only ones ever to have been born in captivity anywhere in the world – have just celebrated their first birthday.

The species does not generally produce twins anyway, so Luca and Chuca find themselves thrust into the global spotlight by prominent biologists and vets.

Many of them have made frequent visits throughout this year to the famed Puerto de la Cruz tourist attraction, where they have watched the development and evolution of the twins, one of which is smaller than the other.

The mammals were born in a tropical eco-system, specially designed by Loro Parque as an exhibition featuring this species and others.

A year later, and both babies have grown into healthy specimens, and while one was in the charge of his biological mother, the smallest was raised by human hand in a replica of their natural environment by the vet and keepers’ team.

Article supplied by Canarian Weekly, click here to read the full story.

EL MEDANO’S Hermano Pedro night walk, to his cave and back, will be staged on Saturday, 25th September, and all are welcome to join in.

It starts at the Plaza and finishes at the Saint’s shrine, next to his cave in the barranco de los Balos, on the left-hand side of the winding road right opposite the Red Rock.

The event, organised by the town’s Fiesta Committee, is backed by Granadilla’s Department of Culture and Heritage. The walk will take about 35-40 minutes, followed by live music, fun and games and the return journey, at about 11pm.

Interested? Then get along to the Medano Plaza before 9pm on the night.

Article supplied by Canarian Weekly

Worten are the leading electrical and electronic retailers in Portugal where they opened their first store in 1996. Since then they have gone from strength to strength continuing opening new stores. In October 2008 they purchased the chain “Boulanger” that had 9 stores throughout mainland Spain, by the end of 2010 they had increased this to 25 stores.

In July 2011 they purchased the stores previously run by PC City adding 32 more stores to their Spanish market, this includes two stores in the Canary Islands; one in Gran Canaria and the other in Las Chafiras, Tenerife.

The Tenerife store opens to the public on Friday 12th August, we are sure they will have some superb opening offers…

Check out their website by clicking here