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Doing business & staying in touch

Business people are generally expected to dress smartly. English is widely spoken in the resorts but less so in the smaller towns and villages. Some knowledge of the Spanish language is always appreciated and sometimes essential.

Office hours: 

Tend to vary considerably but base hours of 0900-1330 and 1700-1900 are fairly typical.

Economy: 

Tourism is by far the greatest driving force of the island's economy. With over five million visitors a year, the hospitality industry and service sector represent almost 80% of Tenerife's productive capacity.

Bananas are the main crop produced by the agricultural industry, with just over 90% of produce going to the mainland. In fact, the Canary Islands are the largest banana producer in the EU. The next most important crop is tomatoes, followed by potatoes, flowers and ornamental plants and vines.
Many of the larger hotels have comprehensive conference centres. There is also a number of dedicated convention centres both in the north and south of the island.

GDP: 

US$52.2 billion (Canary Islands) (2005).

Main exports: 

Bananas, tomatoes, flowers, ornamental plants and refined petrochemicals.

Main imports: 

Vehicles, mechanical and electronic equipment, medical and pharmaceutical supplies.

Main trading partners: 

France, Germany, Italy, UK and Portugal.

Telephone: 

Emergency calls: 112. Area codes are incorporated within a nine digit number.

Mobile phone: 

Roaming agreements exist with most international mobile phone companies. Coverage is good throughout most of the country.

Internet: 

There is a variety of Internet cafés in most urban areas.

 

Post: 

There are efficient internal and international postal services (correos) to all countries. Airmail within Europe usually takes around five days.

Media: 

Broadcasting in Tenerife has witnessed a spectacular expansion in recent years with the emergence of new commercial operators and the launch of digital services.

Press: 

• Island Connections is an English-language fortnightly newspaper.
• Tenerife News is another English-language fortnightly paper, more orientated to the north of Tenerife.
• Living Tenerife is a glossy, English-language island lifestyle magazine published monthly.
• El Dia is a nationalistic Spanish-language daily printed in Tenerife.
• Diario de Avisos provides a more mixed view of Canary Island news.
• La Opinion also provides a more mixed view of the goings on in the archipelago.

Television: 

• TV Canaria and TV Canaria 2 are local channels for the Canary Islands
• State-owned TVE operates TV-1 (La Primera) and TV-2 (La Dos).
• Antena 3, La Cuatro, Telecinco and La Sexta are privately run channels.

Radio: 

• RNE is state-run. It operates Radio 1, Radio Clasica, Radio 3 and Radio 5.
• Cadena SER, Onda Cero and 40 Principales are popular commercial stations.
• OasisFM and PowerFM are the two main English-language radio stations.
• Cadena COPE is controlled by the church.

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