Dolphins Tenerife

This week will be held at Madryn, Argentina, an International Seminar on Responsible Whale Watching. The International Whaling Commission will be attending this seminar as well as representatives from different countries. “This is a great opportunity to reach agreements between social actors who have different points of view about this matter”, said the Argentinean expert in tourism, Antonio Torrejón.

After the procedures made by the regional government of Chubut at the Argentinean Foreign Office, the province obtained the permission to be the venue of this relevant event that will take place between the 2^nd and the 5^th of November, which has been organized by the International Whaling Commission and sponsored by the regional and national government as well as the government of the United States and Australia and the world society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA).

Antonio Torrejón will be representing the Argentinean Minister of Tourism, Mr. Enrique Meyer during the seminar, and he has commented that “this is a good opportunity not only to analyze the inclusion of whales in the modern world, but to reach agreements between countries that have different points of views about this matter. Chubut has been a pioneer in the development of sustainable whale watching activities in South America” added the councillor.

The objective of this seminar is to elaborate a five-year whale watching plan that will be submitted to the International Whaling Commission during their next annual meeting. The approval of this plan will allow the establishment of international policies to regulate whale watching activities.

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A total of twenty five guides have registered in the specialization course on whale watching organized by Tenerife Tourism Corporation completing all the available places as was stated by the vice president of the Council of Tenerife and tourism councillor, José Manuel Bermúdez on a press release. The councillor pointed out that the main objective of this training activity is to “improve the attention and service provided to over 700,000 tourists who enjoy this activity each year in Tenerife.     

The course will take place at the Costa Adeje Tourism Development Centre and will consist of 35 teaching hours, starting next Thursday and ending the 18^th of November. During the training activity the attendees will receive the necessary theoretical knowledge and practical tools to develop ecotourism in the marine environment focused on the direct observation of cetaceans in the wild.

The training will focus on the key elements of the Canary marine environment, the basic characteristics of cetaceans and the differences between whales and dolphins. The course will also address the regulatory aspects of this activity, the importance of the tourist as the recipient of the same, customers with special needs, activities, the abilities of a guide and group management techniques, among other issues.

This training activity complements other initiatives developed by Tenerife Tourism Corporation to boost whale watching as tourist product including the installation of information and interpretive panels at marinas and walking areas of the municipalities in which the activity is carried out, or the establishment of a Quality Charter for companies that offer this service.

Among the cetaceans that live in South Tenerife there is an estimated permanent population of about 500 specimens of pilot whales. Bottlenose dolphins also reside in the waters of the southwest region of Tenerife, where they can be seen in groups of 20 individuals.

All these initiatives are part of the revitalisation plan for the tourism product ‘Tenerife Welcome’, a financial instrument that includes the participation of the Council of Tenerife, the Ministry of Tourism, the Government of the Canary Islands and the Spanish Ministry of Tourism with the aim of creating new tourist products and boost the existing ones.

http://www.europapress.es/islas-canarias/noticia-total-25-guias-inscriben-curso-especializacion-avistamiento-cetaceos-tenerife-20101102150146.html