Business is of great importance to us in the Canary Islands , both in terms of its contribution to the generation of wealth and the distribution of wealth through employment, and in terms of opening up access to a variety of goods and services. Moreover, historically business has played an important role in the socio-economic vitality of our urban centres , and has helped shape the personality of the island's towns and cities, along with its other major natural, urban and artistic attractions.
The Council of Tenerife has been involved in business activities since 1996. The Council is aware of the importance of business to the island’s citizens, as it has a significant impact on employment, on the meeting of needs through consumption and on the dynamism and vitality of our cities, towns and villages.
At first, the Council's involvement took the form of modernising commercial establishments , by providing subsidies for small, island-based businesses. Later it focused on promoting Open Business Areas as the “driver” for a range of different activities, including the following:
The basic objective of these projects was to improve the urban environment in which the small businesses in each municipality are located, whether they are concentrated there by tradition or as a result of the evolution of activities such as tourism. To meet this objective, a significant amount of public resources were invested, with up to 50% coming from the Government of the Canary Islands, a minimum of 15% from the local councils and up to 35% from the Council of Tenerife (these percentages relate to the material costs of implementing the projects). It should also be noted that up to 60% of the funds provided by the Government of the Canary Islands were provided by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Moreover, the Council of Tenerife is aware that these activities do not necessarily equate to positive results for the businesses concerned without raising awareness among consumers, our citizens, of how important small businesses are to our quality of life: we rely on the small businesses that set up shop in the streets we live in, that are close to our homes and trade in our main urban centres. As a result, as well as implementing initiatives related to the products and services on offer, efforts have also been made to raise awareness and stimulate demand through advertising campaigns promoting “local business”.