Tourism in the Canary Islands
Encyclopedia
| Tourism in the Canary Islands | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Population | |||
| 2009 (Jan, Feb) |
1,530,267 | |||
| 2008 | 9,210,509 | |||
| 2007 | 9,326,116 | |||
| 2006 | 9,530,039 | |||
| 2005 | 9,276,963 | |||
| 2004 | 9,427,265 | |||
| 2003 | 9,836,785 | |||
| 2002 | 9,778,512 | |||
| 2001 | 10,137,202 | |||
| 2000 | 9,975,977 | |||
| 1994 | 7,569,096 | |||
| 1993 | 6,545,396 | |||
| Country | Population (2008 total) |
|||
| Germany | 2,498,847 | |||
| Great Britain | 3,355,942 | |||
Tourism is an essential part of the economy of the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, an archipelago off the west coast of Africa. Seven main islands and six islets make up the Canary Islands. They had more than 9 million foreign incoming tourists in 2007. Tourists seeking sunshine and beaches first began to visit the Canaries in large numbers in the 1960s. Canary Islands is a leading European tourist destination with very attractive natural and cultural resources .. Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
is the largest number of tourists it receives. About five million tourists visit Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
each year, Which is also one of the busiest resorts Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and the first of Canary Islands.
Tourist attractions
The Canary Islands have 257 kilometres of beaches. Despite the small area of the seven main islands (7,447 km2), they have very diverse landscapes, including long sandy beaches, spectacular cliffs, deserts, and woods. Pico del TeideTeide
Mount Teide , is a volcano on Tenerife, Canary Islands. Its summit is the highest point in Spain, the highest point above sea level in the islands of the Atlantic, and it is the third highest volcano in the world measured from its base on the ocean floor, after Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea located in...
is the highest mountain in Spain, with a height of 3,718 m, is located on Tenerife They have four national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
s, four biosphere reserve
Biosphere reserve
The Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO was established in 1971 to promote interdisciplinary approaches to management, research and education in ecosystem conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.-Development:...
s, and more than 140 other protected areas. Visitors in the national parks are not permitted to leave defined paths or to camp in the parks.
Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
is the largest of the Canary Islands. Tourist attractions here include nightlife, walking, and whale-and bird-watching. Loro Parque
Loro Parque
Loro Parque is a zoo located on the outskirts of Puerto de la Cruz on Tenerife, Spain where it houses an extensive and diverse reserve of animal and plant species...
(meaning "Parrot Park") on Tenerife has a collection of 3,000 parrots. However, most of these parrots cannot be seen by visitors. There is another facility south of the main park where approximately 330 parrots species are kept and a breeding program takes place. Other attractions in the park include alligators, chimpanzees, jaguars, penguins, porpoises, Killer Whales
Orca
The killer whale , commonly referred to as the orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas...
, sharks, and tigers.
Lanzarote
Lanzarote
Lanzarote , a Spanish island, is the easternmost of the autonomous Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 125 km off the coast of Africa and 1,000 km from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering 845.9 km2, it stands as the fourth largest of the islands...
, the most northeasterly of the Canary Islands, has been designated an UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. It has an arid volcanic landscape and there are about 300 volcanic cones on the island. The island has a low-key approach to tourism and the traditional architecture of island's interior are taken into consideration. This approach was influenced by the artist César Manrique
César Manrique
César Manrique was an artist and an architect.-Biography:Manrique grew up in the area of San Ginés lagoon. At age 23, he participated in his first exhibition in Arrecife. He attended the University of La Laguna. In 1945, Manrique attended the art school San Fernando in Madrid for five years...
, who was from Lanzarote. Manrique created works in Lanzarote and the other islands, including Jardin de Cactus, an amphitheatre
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
-shaped garden with ten thousand cacti and stone sculptures. A 26 feet (7.9 m) cactus sculpted from metal by Manrique is located by the entrance to the garden.
In late 2009 the Canary Islands Tourist Board launched a marketing campaign called "Operation No Winter Blues". 100 Canarian residents aged between 18 and 35 were selected to be ambassadors for the Islands. The campaign is based on the original name of the Fortunate Islands, with the ambassadors sharing the islands' good fortune with selected countries. The campaign involves the 100 citizens traveling to 14 European destinations spreading positive news about the Canaries and lasted until mid December.
See also
- Tourism in the Canary Islands
- Marine life of the Canary IslandsMarine Life of the Canary IslandsThe marine life found in the Canary Islands is diverse, being a combination of North Atlantic, Mediterranean, and endemic species. In recent years, the increasing popularity of both scuba diving and underwater photography have provided biologists with much new information on the marine life of the...
- Geography of the Canary Islands