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About Spain

     Spain (Spanish: España (help·info), IPA: [es'paɲa]), is a Western European country. The country consists of Peninsular Spain which is located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, two archipelagos, one in each sea, and two autonomous cities in North Africa.

     The Spanish mainland is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the south and east, by the Cantabric Sea that includes the Bay of Biscay to the north, and by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal to the west. Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands off the African coast. It shares land borders with Portugal, France, Andorra, the British colony of Gibraltar, and Morocco. It is the largest of the three sovereign states that make up the Iberian Peninsula — the others being Portugal and Andorra. With an area of 504,030 km², Spain is the second largest country in Western Europe (behind France).

     Spain is a constitutional monarchy organised as a parliamentary democracy, and has been a member of the European Union since 1986. It is a developed country with the ninth largest economy in the world and fifth largest in the EU.

     Spain has a very ancient and complex prehistory. Under the Roman empire Hispania flourished and became one of the empire's most important regions. During the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule. Later, nearly the entire peninsula came under Muslim rulers. Through a long process Christian kingdoms in the north gradually rolled back Muslim rule, which was finally extinguished in 1492. That year Columbus reached the Americas, the beginnings of the first global empire. Spain became the strongest kingdom in Europe in the sixteenth and first half of the seventeenth centuries but continued wars and other problems eventually led to a diminished status. In the middle decades of the twentieth century it came under a dictatorship, under which it went through many years of stagnation and then a spectacular economic revival. In 1986 it joined the European Union and has experienced an economic and cultural renaissance.

About Tenerife

     Tenerife, a Spanish island, is the largest of the seven Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. The island's population is 852,945 (2006 census).

     Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the second biggest city in the archipelago, the capital of the island and the head of the cabildo insular (island government); it is also officially co-capital of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands together with Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, with whom it shares governmental institutions such as Presidency, Parliament and ministries. The island is home to La Laguna University founded in 1792.

     Tourism is the most prominent industry in the Canaries and it is one of the major tourist destinations in the World. In 2005, 9,276,963 tourists (excluding those from mainland Spain) came to the Canary Islands. Tenerife had 3,442,787 arrivals that year, excluding the numbers for Spanish tourists which make up an additional 30% of total arrivals. According to last year's Canarian Statistics Centre's (ISTAC) Report on Tourism the greatest number of tourists from any one country come from the United Kingdom, with more than 1,600,000 tourists in 2005. In second place comes Germany followed by Belgium, The Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Italy, France, Austria, Ireland and Switzerland.

     Tourism is more prevalent in the south of the island, which is hotter and drier and has many well developed resorts such as Playa de las Americas and Los Cristianos. More recently coastal development has spread northwards from Playa de las Americas and now encompasses the former small enclave of La Caleta. After the Moratoria act passed by the Canarian Parliament in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, no more hotels should be built on the island unless they are classified as 5 star-quality and comprise different services such as Golf Courses or Congress facilities. This act was passed with the goal of improving the standard of tourism service and promoting environmentally conscious development.

     The area known as Costa Adeje (Las Américas-Los Cristianos) comprises many world-class facilities and leisure opportunities besides sea and sand, such as quality shopping centres, golf courses ( 9 in the island), restaurants, aquaparks, animal parks, and a theatre suitable for musicals or a Congress Hall, all in a very characteristic Las Vegas-like aesthetic. In the more lush and green north of the island the main development for tourism has been in the town of Puerto de la Cruz. The town itself has kept some of its old-harbour town charm mixed with northern European influences. Still, the tourist boom in the 60's changed the outlook of the town, making it cosy and cosmopolitan at the same time, and a favourite for the more mature traveller (notably the German and Spanish tourist).