If you haven’t already spotted it, this month we are once again working in partnership with Sands Beach Resort in Costa Teguise, Lanzarote to give one lucky fan of our Facebook page a truly fabulous holiday prize – one week, half board at Sands Beach.

Earlier this year TM was lucky enough to spend a few days at this fabulous resort and we were able to check out some of the amazing facilities on offer.

Nestling at the northern edge of Costa Teguise in an enviable position alongside Playa Charco on the shores of a salt water lagoon, some of the apartments and villas of Sands Beach hug the lagoon shoreline so you literally step from your terrace onto the golden beach. Others surround elegant, landscaped plazas with beautiful free form swimming pools at their heart. Elegant, bright, contemporary and spacious the apartments have everything you need to enjoy home from home comfort in the sort of surroundings you wish your full time home occupied. From fully fitted kitchens and stylish lounges to quiet, comfortable bedrooms and oodles of storage space.

Spend your days lazing by the beach or pool before trying one of the daily specials on the sun soaked terrace of the Mai Tai restaurant on Paradise Island while the youngest members of the family are kept occupied and entertained by the tireless Animation Team.

Or opt to try some of the sports and activities on offer. Pop into Papagayo Bikes in reception and get yourself some wheels with which to explore some of your incredible surroundings while you burn off calories to make room for plenty more. Water babies should take advantage of the resort’s partnership with Calipso Diving to discover the stunning clarity and teeming tropical undersea world of Costa Teguise, it’s an experience you’ll never forget. Or you could go hiking, play tennis, work out in the gym, try windsurfing…the possibilities are too numerous to list.

In short, Sands Beach resort is the sort of place where people very happily pay to stay again and again and again.
At the beginning of April we’ll be pulling one name out of the Tenerife Magazine Facebook fans, wouldn’t you like that name to be yours?

]]> http://www.tenerifemagazine.com/happenings/competitions/anyone-fancy-a-free-holiday-at-sands-beach-resort-in-lanzarote.htm/feed 0 http://www.tenerifemagazine.com/sports/world-cup-2010/fill-your-bar-with-world-cup-fever.htm http://www.tenerifemagazine.com/sports/world-cup-2010/fill-your-bar-with-world-cup-fever.htm#comments Wed, 02 Jun 2010 07:30:21 +0000 Colin Kirby http://www.tenerifemagazine.com/?p=3086 If you want football to come home to your bar you need to reach customers as the fever builds game by game. Tenerife Magazine will be updating every day with results, talking points, and promotions.

Tenerife Magazine has a large readership and reaches residents and visitors already in Tenerife and those about to come out to join us. Check out our Facebook fans and see the range of nationalities we attract – all looking for somewhere to watch their team.

If you want to see what advertising with us can do for you, call John on 639702649 or email john@tenerifemagazine.com

Amongst the prestigious travel media professionals who make up the British Guild of Travel Writers, John Bell is a travel journalist, TV Director/Producer (John is the former Producer of Radio 4′s ‘Breakaway’ and Channel 4′s ‘Travelogue’) and tourism training professional.
I caught up with John last week at the Guild’s AGM Gala Dinner hosted by the Gran Hotel Bahía Del Duque and he had some pearls of wisdom to share with Tenerife’s tourism professionals.

Firstly, I asked John what his impressions of Tenerife had been so far and laughing, he replied; “It’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be!”
Which I considered was exactly the sort of response the Cabildo (Island Government) were hoping to elicit when they invited the British Guild of Travel Writers (BGTW) to host their Annual General Meeting on Tenerife.

Sparing no effort or expense, the Cabildo wanted to show the Guild that there’s a very different Tenerife from the one that has been poorly portrayed in the British press so many times. Judging by John’s conversation, the exercise is already yielding results and most of the BGTW delegates I spoke to were seeing a very different side to Tenerife, one that hopefully they’ll promote in their various travel media.

As well as working in travel journalism and TV, John is a media trainer in travel and tourism and he took the time to offer some invaluable advice to those of us who are involved in some form or another in Tenerife’s tourism sector.

John’s message for Tenerife is not to lose sight of its traditional market but rather to raise the standards of what’s being offered and to provide excellent value for money.
John: “That’s the key – don’t confuse low cost with poor value. Many of the people who fly on Ryanair and Easyjet are choosing to stay in 4 and 5 star accommodation. They don’t necessarily expect low prices but they do insist on good value for money.
The traditional market is changing but it’s still your staple market, don’t neglect it.”

John has recently returned from a conference in Madrid where he says he emerged with one strong message; offer better value for money to your traditional market whilst keeping an eye on emerging markets.

John: “Tenerife must be able to respond quickly to the demands of a travel public that now has the power to book their holidays 24/7 over the Internet. People may read an article about a place on Thursday and decide to go the following day for a weekend. They can book their flight immediately and the hotels need to be just as responsive. So too should the car hire companies. If the hotel and the car hire company don’t have 24/7 online booking facilities they’re going to miss out on a whole travel market.”

Tenerife hotels should offer the whole package, says John.

John: “Hotels should make available airport transfer, car hire, excursions and even travel guides. Everything should be readily bookable in one package online to make arranging a short break quick, easy and efficient for visitors.”

From where I’m standing, much of Tenerife’s professional tourism sector still has a long way to go in terms of offering a seamless package to visitors. After investing so much time and effort into hosting the BGTW, let’s hope the Cabildo can now disseminate what it has learned from these travel professionals and create a destination that will suit the Internet-savvy British market. It’s our traditional market and it’s constantly evolving…Tenerife needs to evolve with it.

Tenerife has been polishing her best profile this week to entertain, educate and enthral the British Guild of Travel Writers (BGTW) who’ve been enjoying their Annual General Meeting on the island.
On Thursday night Tenerife Magazine was lucky enough to be invited to the Guild’s Gala Dinner at the ultra-chic Bahía Del Duque Hotel in Costa Adeje.
So, wearing my poshest outfit, fresh lipstick and stilettos I arrived at the El Duque and walked what felt like a half marathon through its grounds wishing I’d opted for hiking boots instead.

As luck would have it, I passed through a convention of Spanish surgeons en route to the Beach Club and a glass of something delicious was gracefully thrust into my hands to keep me going until I finally reached the venue and caught up with Sarah Monaghan, editor/travel writer/photographer and press and PR co-ordinator for the BGTW.

I asked Sarah what had impressed her so far about Tenerife.
Sarah: “Well I was completely wowed by Teide National Park; the light, the landscape and the colours were extraordinary and the way that you could see the lava from eruptions so clearly.
I’m looking forward to walking in the rainforest in the Anaga Mountains tomorrow and to discovering more about the wines on Tenerife; the history of wine growing, which grapes are used and how they cultivate the vines in this climate.”

A strong supporter of ecotourism, Sarah wasn’t too keen on the amount of development taking place on the Tenerife south coast but found the general environment to be surprisingly good.
Sarah: “I think the standards of accommodation here are excellent and I’m extremely impressed with the cleanliness of the whole area and the quality of lifestyle that visitors can enjoy.”

The Cabildo (Island Government) have arranged a whole series of trips for the BGTW to show them a different side to Tenerife and one which the Cabildo hope will result in some features that encourage more people to get out and about on the island and discover some of the ‘real’ Tenerife.
Sarah: “We’ll be taking a look at Canarian cookery, we’re going to the Anagas and we’ve been to banana plantations and a small rural hotel. These are things that many visitors to the island wouldn’t normally do and it’s shown us a very different face to Tenerife.”

With a distinguished and varied publishing and editorial career already under her belt, I was keen to know how Sarah felt that the travel writing industry was changing in the light of the explosion of Internet-based travel information.
Sarah: “There have been meteoric changes in the freelance travel writing sector as a result of the growth of the Internet and we are all blogging and tweeting now. But it’s important to realise that very little of the information which we see on the Web is impartial. I believe there is still a place for properly researched, impartial travel writing, particularly when if focuses on a specialist area. The availability of so much information is forcing those within the industry to specialize more which is not a bad thing.”

After a night of fine food, excellent wine, Carnaval-themed entertainment and a spectacular laser show, the journey back to the exit of the Bahia Del Duque Hotel proved challenging. And I wasn’t the only one failing to rise to the challenge. By the time we finally found the exit we were quite a gathering, including John Carter. It seems travel writers can find their way around the World but give us a complicated hotel layout and we might as well be in an episode of ‘Lost’.

If the BGTW finds that’s it’s missing a few members when it gets back to Blighty, can I suggest that they start the search at the Bahia Del Duque?

To celebrate our launch, Sand’s Beach Resort are offering one week’s FREE accommodation for up to four people in one of their gorgeous apartments on Lanzarote’s Costa Teguise.
All you have to do is become a fan of Tenerife Magazine on Facebook and your name will automatically go into a draw to win this fantastic launch offer.

Sands Beach Resort Lanzarote

So, if you’d like to have giddy knickers (or underpants) too, now’s your chance.
Good luck, or as they say on Tenerife, ¡Buena Suerte!

Terms and conditions

1. The prize is one week free accommodation at SandsBeach.eu
2. Sleeps up to 4 adults.
3. Subject to availability.
4. The week is not exchangeable for cash
5. The holiday is to be taken with in 12 months of winning the competition.
6. The draw will be made on the 30th November 2009, the winner will be announced on the facebook page and emailed to the winner via facebook.

Sands Beach Resort, Lanzarote

Wake up to palm trees beneath a clear blue sky and the gentle lapping of the sea on a golden shore right outside your door. Then step out into your own secluded paradise at Sands Beach Resort on Lanzarote’s gentle Costa Teguise.

Experience a welcome as warm as the Lanzarote sun at Sands Beach Resort’s stunning location where elegant, spacious villas are set around swimming pool plazas and the private lagoon of Paradise Island.

Nature provides the perfect setting for families to enjoy relaxation and fun in the sun with daily poolside entertainment and child friendly menus to ensure everyone gets the holiday they want.

Sports enthusiasts can raise the adrenalin levels with windsurfing, scuba diving, tennis courts and a fully equipped gym while sun worshippers can simply lie back and watch the thermometer rise instead.

At Sands Beach Resort your holiday awaits you.

Become a Fan on Facebook now!