Tenerife reported surprising numbers of tourists from the first part of its tourism season. Despite the Spanish economy being poised on the edge of recession, vacationers are choosing to visit the idyllic island for a variety of reasons.

Once a holiday destination has a reputation, it can take an awful long time to change that image. To British minds for example areas and islands of Spain including Benidorm and Tenerife can conjure up thoughts of the worst type of holiday...

This time last year in the Search Travel Online offices, we were looking at our calendars and predicting a sales lull around the time of June and July 2008. Why? Because of the European Championship in Switzerland and Austria.

Property prices in Spain have increased faster than inflation in recent years, but the Canary Islands of Lanzarote and Tenerife still offer good value and the prospect of rising values in the future.

Until recent years, the perfect island vacation was something many people only dreamed of. Thanks to mass tourism and the popularity of affordable vacation packages, island getaways are becoming a yearly event for millions of people. Cruise companies and airlines have made efforts to make travel more affordable.

Animals have been used along with physical therapy for decades. It is common to see small farms or petting zoos double as places for assisting those who are in need. Dolphins are giving researchers and therapists opportunities to break new ground through dolphin assisted therapy.

Winter sun breaks on the island of Tenerife are enjoyed by many people, especially those seeking an escape from the harsher winter weather of northern Europe. Faced with at least 4 months of short days, cold temperatures and potentially wet weather, the warm dry winter climate of the island of Tenerife is obviously very attractive to northern Europeans and can be reached using one of the many flights to the island provided by low cost airlines.

Spain has dominated the European holidays scene for decades, but with the Euro stronger than ever there's a danger of her losing top spot to cheaper destinations in 2009.

Despite the recession and job losses felt around the world, tourism to Tenerife remains positive. The Canary Islands finished out 2008 with a nearly 2.5 percent increase in growth over 2007. Only one month into the 2009 season, projections for another great year of tourism are high.

Strikes in Spain over the rising cost of fuel has hit the country's holiday resorts - but many tourists booked their trips months before they knew of industrial action.