Twenty five guides will take part in a specialization course on whale watching in Tenerife
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 18th 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.