Gran Canaria Convention Bureau

Meetings

2

4

Island of Meetings

GRAN CANARIA, ISLAND OF MEETINGS Imagine an island that offers to the organizers of congresses, conventions, fairs and incentive travels the ideal frame for arranging their events. The mild weather conditions prevail on the Island throughout the year, a varied and modern infrastructure, good communications, an attractive natural landscape and a great organizational experience guarantee the success of any national and international event in Gran Canaria.

In addition to the congress and hotel offer, it is worthy pointing out that the island of Gran Canaria has excellent connections with any part of the world. The island is an accesible and convenient destination, just two hours away from the Iberian Peninsula and four hours from the heart of Europe. The distances in Gran Canaria are shorter thanks to the modern motorways and roads network, which facilitates the displacements and the enjoyment of any corner of the island.

The society of Gran Canaria is very dinamic and enterprising, which is evident in this sector owing to the great number of prestige national an international events that take place in Gran Canaria every year. The island of Gran Canaria offers the best facilities and locations for congresses, it is also one of the tourist destinations that offers the broadest range of companies that provide organizational services for all types of events. Gran Canaria has a large number of companies and qualified professionals that offer a first quality service in the organization of meetings, fairs and incentive travels.

Flight hours between Gran Canaria and some main cities Madrid Barcelona Berlin Dublin Helsinki Lisbon Miami Moscow Rome Oslo

2h 30m 3h 4h 30m 4h 6h 1h 40m 6h 7h 4h 6h

6

Endless potential

Endless potential‌ Gran Canaria has endless potential for organising all kind of events, especially in two key locations: Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and the South of the island, the touristic areas of Playa del InglÊs and Maspalomas.

The capital city is one of the most emblematic sites because it offers a modern network of centres and hotels with capacity to accommodate conference delegates from anywhere in the world. The Alfredo Kraus Auditorium- Canary Islands Conference Centre is the most recent and striking facility with its spectacular design and location. The colossal building rises up over the city’s main Las Canteras beach like a fortress, offering the attraction of its Symphony Hall, with skating for almost two thousand delegates, directly overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The Gran Canaria Conference Centre is also in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, with spacious gardens and a range of different pavilions, making it possible to organise several events at the same time.

In the south of the island, in the tourist resort of Maspalomas is the Maspalomas Conference Centre. This is the most modern on the island, located just a few metres form the Maspalomas Sand Dunes, a unique protected area and nature reserve.

Apart from these centres, the island can also offer a hundred different fully equipped halls and lounges in four and five-star hotels, distributed the holiday resorts and the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Hence, in contrast to the range of luxury establishments next to the sea, there is also an excellent range of city, historic and country hotels.

Isla de Encuentros

7

9

Isla de Encuentros

11

Isla de Encuentros

13

14

Hotels

Hotels The island of Gran Canaria offers a wide selection of hotels where it is possible to combine rest and the arrangement of working meetings. Business conventions, seminars, and congresses are also held in these hotels, which extend from north to south of the island, with the most modern infrastructure to receive visitors from all parts of the world. We have listed below the island’s four and five star hotels with convention halls. A complete list of establishments is available at www.grancanaria.com.

28

Singular settings

...and some singular settings Besides the usual places, Gran Canaria offers other settings for congress events in privileged enclaves. Historical and singular buildings, full of history and art, that allow to organize presentations, events, special and social ceremonies.

Singular settings

CASA MUSEO DE COLĂ“N (Christopher Colombus Museum)

GABINETE LITERARIO

Located on the historical quarter of Vegueta. It is an architectural complex, including what was originally the Island Governors’ House, now over five hundred years old. In addition to the museum, Colombus House also has several places destinated to temporary activities, such as courses, seminars, exhibitions... It has an assembly room for 11 persons and various small halls.

Located in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The Literary Circle has played a leading role in the social and cultural life of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria ever since it was founded in 1844. It is a large building with neo-classical elements and modernist decoration.

Inside, there are many rooms of great artistic interest, where all kinds of events and meetings can be organised with a capacity of up to 250 people.

29

Singular settings

And...

For the most exquisite formal dinners and the most original soirĂŠes, the island has numerous special places: typical Canarian restaurants and taverns, traditional properties, small hotels of charm, gardens, exotic casinos, castles in the city center or a caverns converted into restaurants.

All these infrastructures together to the “savoir faire� of our professionals will make your event an unforgettable experience.

31

32

The best window for your events

The best window for your events The natural and landscape environment of Gran Canaria, linked to the mildness of the island’s climate, guarantees a never-ending range of leisure possibilities that make Gran Canaria the ideal frame for the organization of events.

Gran Canaria is blessed with a wealth of natural resources, the most notable of these being the 60 kilometers of beaches, ranging from the impressive Maspalomas beach, with its oasis of sand dunes right next to the sea, to the concealed and unspoilt beach of Güigüi, as well as the lively beach in the capital, namely the Las Canteras beach. The beauty of its landscapes full of contrasts due to its volcanic origin is obvious, unique scenarios that are completed by 32 protected areas and 8 natural reserves.

The mildness of the island’s climate and the absence of extreme temperature variations make it possible to practice practically any type of outdoor sport during any time of the year. Hang gliding, trekking and risky sports to discover the wildest nature of the island.

For those who prefer calm sports, there is a great offer for the practice of golf, with eight golf courses that are spread out over the island, which are visited throughout the year by international golfers.

Furthemore, if you want to relax, tone up and recuperate your vital energy, the island has a wide offer of Spa&Wellness Centers, with the most advanced techniques and the prestige of being a destination with more than hundred years dedicated to health tourism.

Isla de Encuentros

33

34

Cosmopolitan vocation

Cosmopolitan vocation...

The cultural life of the island is full of events and international festivals during any time of the year. It is worthy pointing out The Canary Islands Classical Music Festival, which takes place during the months of January and February and where are gathered the most important worldwide figures of classical music. It is also very important to mention the Opera Festival, the Zarzuela Festival, the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Theatre and Dance Festival, the International Jazz Festival and the International Cinema Festival of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Gran Canaria demonstrates its aborigen past through the numerous archaeological sites. An interesant architectural heritage with centuries of history can be discovered by walking in the villages or towns. The museums show its history, and the art centers exhibit the work of their artists, just like the main trends in universal art.

But the culture is also revealed by the rich natural patrimony of the island, with more than one hundred endemic species, in its traditional festivities, its varied and special gastronomy, rich in tastes and the bouquet of its wines.

Gran Canaria also boasts an extensive network of shopping areas which complete the traditional commerce of craftwork shops. One of the biggest attractions of shopping on the island is undeniably the low duties that are applied to certain imported goods, which means that one can find a series of products at prices that are between 10 and 30 percent lower.

35

36

Playing golf

Playing golf In 1891 the island of Gran Canaria already had the first golf course in all of Spain: el Real Club de Golf de Las Palmas, situated on a nature spot. From then onwards the golf tourism has had an almost perfect stage with the advantage of the proximity to any point in Europe and a climate apt for sports all year round.

Today there are eight magnificent golf courses spread out all over the insular geography and the construction plans of others advance at a steady rhythm. Designed by the first world specialists and in a range of action that does not exceed 50 kilometres, the Grancanarian golf offer positions itself on the front line for people who love this sport and want to try it and combine different courses with short trips in a few days. The location of the camps as well lets the tourist immediately enjoy the game and the beach or the nature visits in where a good part of the game centres are located.

Isla de Encuentros

37

38

Treat yourself

Treat yourself The first tourists that came to Gran Canaria around the end of the 19th century did so attracted by the benevolence of the weather and the mineral waters of the island. The health tourism is one of the oldest worldwide. From all over Europe, people with lung diseases, stomach and nerves problems travelled attracted by the propaganda and the medical advice.

This prestige has been held throughout the years and has been developed into one more health alternative.

Gran Canaria offers infrastructures and an extensive range of alternatives for the consultation and treatment of different diseases, or only to pamper the body and relax. The island also benefits from spas with waters rich in minerals that when mixed with seawaters are ideal for rehabilitations, chronic rheumatisms, or for tiredness and stress. Treatments with seaweed, sea mud, hydrotherapy, baths with mineral salts, aromatherapy, thalasotherapy, massages, Turkish baths, etc.

As well as of the multitude of specialised centres in Gran Canaria, the visitor can also take advantage of the whole island to feel like they are in paradise and forget about stress, tiredness and the daily hustle and bustle. The offer ranges from walks along the long goldsanded beaches and crystal waters to losing yourself inside the “laurisilva� forests or amongst the inland mountain ranges.

Isla de Encuentros

39

40

An Interior World to discover

An Interior World to discover Nearly half the territory of Gran Canaria is protected, so, apart from the beaches, the island possesses natural resources that convert the island into the perfect place to enjoy contact with nature and the possibilities that this entails: take walks through stunningly beautiful spots, do adventure sports or look at the indigenous species endemic and unique in the world. This natural treasures of Gran Canaria have been the reason why much of the territory of the Island has been classed by Unesco as Biosphere Reserve.

The archaeological and cultural treasures hidden in the inside of the island combine with the natural richness. Villages and cities with more than 500 years of history with the savour of the colonial architecture.

Against this backdrop, the inhabitants of the islands have put together a supply of nature tourism that is characterised by an equally deep respect for the environment. This includes everything from century-old country houses that have been renovated, as well as a wide range of leisure activities that include everything from high risk sports, such as rock climbing, to hiking along the “Caminos reales� or ancient network of country pathways, which has been reopened for use by the public and which forms part of the cultural and historic heritage of the island.

Isla de Encuentros

41

42

Incentives with imagination

Incentives with imagination Imagination and surprise are the keys for your incentive travel. Gran Canaria is a grand theme park that offers to the visitors a great variety of leisure activities that can be enjoyed during the whole year in the wide open spaces. Gran Canaria is an island full of history, a place where you will discover the life of the aboriginal people, the colonizers, the pirates and Columbus longing to discover new routes. The landscapes of the island go from the green of its forests to the blue of the sea, from the yellow of its beaches to the ochre of the volcanos. In Gran Canaria you will discover the autochthonous traditions of a territory long time isolated and the nature with innumerable endemic species.

Only in Gran Canaria you will be able to organize your meetings in the most special and singular ambiance, riding on a camel through an oasis of dunes, in a rustic property surrounded by a landscape of bananas plantations, with the typical atmosphere of the most tradictional architecture, or a relaxing trip on catamaran. All you can imagine it is within your reach.

In Gran Canaria, our professionals propose you a series of activities that are an essential part for conventions and incentive programs for companies, in which the interpersonal relationships, communication, team work and capacity for improvisation will be encouraged through team building techniques and in a ludic way. All this in a privileged natural environment and with the best climate in the world.

Isla de Encuentros

43

44

We suggest

We suggest...

Day 1: Arrival to Gran Canaria. Welcome cocktail and accommodation in the hotel.

Time to make you comfortable.

Visit of the historical area of Vegueta in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Treasure Hunt: the group is divided into teams. Each team will have a route book and a map of the area and will have to resolve answers and proofs related to the city, its history, its monuments, gastronomy and outstanding figures, to find out the clues necessary that will lead you to the treasure.

This program endeavours to show part of the city in a ludic way and to verify the grade of collaboration among the different participants, and also their qualities of improvisation and intuition.

Day 2: Breakfast. Transfer to the “Presa de Chira” (Chira Dam).

Raid: The “Presa de Chira” is situated in en valley surrounded by low mountains covered of pines. Some of the activities will take place in a border of the dam. For the rest of activities we will take kayaks to arrive to a small peninsula where we will make exercises of ability, effort and coordination between teams. The Raid will have several consecutive trials, such as tiroline, abseiling, orientation, kayak in a marsh, archery, bridges construction and practices of team building.

Day 3: Breakfast. Transfer to the Marina of Puerto Rico where we will take a catamaran exclusively for the group.

Ship Expedition: All day excursion along the southeast coast of the island, with meal on board and free bar, animated by a music group. It will be organized activities with the banana and speedboats.

Day 4: Breakfast and free relax time for playing golf or enjoy a Spa sessions in some of the specialized centers of the island.

Transfer to the airport.

45

46

The best professionals

The best professionals...

Receptive agencies / Event Agencies The success of any event is guaranteed thanks to many years of experience in the events organization and to the great professionals of the island.

Elaborating and executing incentive programs, company meetings, presentations of products and conferences or conventions, achieving all this from the creativity, the deep knowledge of the product, the dedication, innovation, communication and the contact with the clients.

They offer the following services: • Creation of special programs, creative and personalized.

• Advice and hiring hotels, convention centers and meeting rooms.

• Any kind of transport services.

• Planning and realization of excursions.

• Creativity and personalization of the activities program, spaces setting, thematic events and formal dinners.

• Any kind of events organization.

• Personalized service • Compromise on quality Complementary services: If you want to hold congresses, conferences and symposiums of a high standard of quality, it is essential to have access to the best professionals in the field of congress organising. The island of Gran Canaria offers a broadest range of companies that provide organisational services for all types of events.

Hostesses, audio visual equipment, decoration, catering, translation and interpretation, public relations, assembly stands are only some of the services that you will find amongst the dedicated professionals who work in the field of communications and marketing in Gran Canaria.

Isla de Encuentros

47

48

Why Gran Canaria?

Why Gran Canaria?

Climate: Gran Canaria has a temperate climate, very agreeable during all the year, with an average tempreature of 23ยบ, which makes possible to organize open space events and to combine combine work with leisure and sport the nature.

Well connected: Gran Canaria has excellent air communications. Specially with most of the Spanish and European cities. The island is just two hours away from the Iberian Peninsula and four hours from Europe. Its international airport is 20 minutes from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and 15 from the tourist areas.

Infrastructures: Gran Canaria has a wide offer for arranging congresses and small and big meetings, receptions and banquets in lovely and historical places, exhibitions and presentations of products in modern and perfectly equipped facilities.

Hotels: Gran Canaria offers a large selection of hotels. 153,965 hotel beds, 28,162 of them in hotels of four - star and five-star ratings.

Isla de Encuentros

49

50

Why Gran Canaria?

Singular settings: Gran Canaria offers a never-ending range possibilities: historical and singular buildings for the most special social events.

An environment full of contrasts: The leisure possibilities of the island are infinite: the Dunes of Maspalomas, the cliffs of the west coast and the leafy pines groves of the centre area. From summer to winter you can practise golf, sea sports, trekkings and the possibility of relaxing in one of the health centers of the island.

History and culture: Culturally speaking, Gran Canaria is synonymous with the blending of cultures.

This attribute of the island is the legacy of its long history as a port of call for travellers, having been a society that is open to everything that arrives to its shores from beyond the seas. Its extremely valuable archaeological, artistic, architectural and ethnographic heritage is completed with a wide cultural program during any time of the year.

Gastronomy: Rich and varied with land and sea products: fishes, cheeses, gofio, mojo, tropical fruits... The traditional canarian cuisine can be tasted in the wide offer of restaurants that have developed a gastronomic movement with creativity and style.

Professionalism and quality: More than one hundred companies specialized in business tourism, supported by many years of experience, with the best professionals of the sector who guarantee the success of your event.

Isla de Encuentros

51