The new facilities of the Lanzarote-based business group Cabrera Medina in La Palma hosted the presentation of the audio guide of that island on the night of Thursday, December 13. The initiative of the audio guide of La Palma comes from the also Lanzarote-based company Canary Islands Car, SL (CICAR), belonging to the same group.
The event was presided over by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Water of the Government of the Canary Islands, Juan Ramón Hernández, who was accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Tourism of the Government of the Canary Islands, Ricardo Fernández de la Puente; the Minister of Tourism of the Cabildo of La Palma, Julio Cabrera; the Mayor of Breña Baja, Borja Pérez; and the Island Director of the General State Administration in La Palma, Miguel Ángel Morcuende. Mamerto Cabrera also spoke on behalf of CICAR.
The new facilities of the Cabrera Medina Group on the island of La Palma were also inaugurated at the same event, which houses CICAR and the new exhibition of Opel, Fiat and Alfa Romeo through Orvecame, another company of the Group.
Design by Ildefonso Aguilar
The event began with an explanation about the contents and operation of the audio guide of La Palma by Ildefonso Aguilar, who has taken care of the composition or selection of the musical band, and is also the author of the design of the CD cover: concept, design and photographs.
Then, on behalf of CICAR, Mamerto Cabrera, pointed out that "the idea of the audio guides was born because we saw the need to improve the service we offer to our customers. Our intention is that they have complete and quality information when they travel around the islands, and our hope is that they get to know the Canary Islands with us," he said. He also thanked the collaborating companies and the Group's staff for the effort made to set up the company's new facilities on the island of La Palma.
Later, the Island Director of the General State Administration highlighted the close links between the audio guide of La Palma and the strengths of the island in terms of nature tourism.
Next, the Minister of Tourism of the Cabildo of La Palma described the audio guide as "one of the best resources available to the island for visitors to get to know it in depth".
Then, the Deputy Minister of Tourism of the Government of the Canary Islands, who stressed that the audio guide "fulfills the desire of any visitor: that someone tells them what they are visiting and seeing".
The Mayor of Breña Baja, for his part, valued CICAR's initiative with the island, through an audio guide that will allow a better understanding of the attractions of La Palma.
The event was closed by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Water of the Government of the Canary Islands, who valued CICAR's initiative towards La Palma and the other Canary Islands through its audio guides. He highlighted the importance of the car rental sector without a driver in the Canary Islands tourism sector and pointed to the company as "an example of innovation and improvement of services that adds value to tourism on the island".
What is the audio guide of La Palma
The audio guide of La Palma is an innovative service that CICAR offers to users of its rental cars, at no cost to them. The first audio guide published was that of Lanzarote, a pilot experience that was followed by the audio guides of Gran Canaria, Tenerife, El Hierro and Fuerteventura. In fact, the last audio guide, La Gomera, is already being edited, and its public presentation is scheduled for the end of January.
When renting a CICAR vehicle anywhere in La Palma, the user will receive a CD, in mp3 format (audio), which describes 32 places of interest in La Palma. The customer can choose between three languages: Spanish, English and German.
As the user travels through the island, he/she can choose the track he/she wants to listen to, in accordance with the landscape or the place in front of him/her. When doing so, a voice, whose Spanish locution is by the writer Fernando G. Delgado, describes the most interesting aspects of the place that is being visited over a subtle musical background. The voice in German is by Stephan Kaiser. The texts are by Mario Alberto Perdomo.
As a complementary support to the audio guide, CICAR offers the rental car user a map of the island with the signaling of the points of interest, as well as a user manual.
With this initiative, CICAR makes a long-standing aspiration that was conceived more than two years ago a reality. CICAR tries to contribute, in this way, to spread the cultural and natural values of the Canary Islands among the users who are inclined to use their rental cars to travel and get to know it. Likewise, with this audio guide, CICAR tries to favor a better interpretation of La Palma by incorporating the varied leisure offer, public and private, that the island has. On the other hand, the audio guide promotes the consumption of local products, and offers a series of useful tips for rental car users to contribute to the conservation of the island.
On the other hand, it is intended to make the audio guide available to the taxi fleet of La Palma, at no cost, so that they can use it when performing their services, as was already done in the other islands. The different audio guides are carried out in close coordination with the Island Tourist Boards.
Who is CICAR
CICAR is part of the Lanzarote-based business group Cabrera Medina. This business group, with a family structure, offers services in all the Canary Islands, and is present in all airports, ports, tourist areas and strategic points of the Archipelago. It has about 7,000 rental vehicles, more than 80 points of sale of both rent a car and vehicle sales, and employs 1,100 people directly. Its logo is a creation of the Lanzarote artist César Manrique.
Throughout its history, the Cabrera Medina Group has been recognized with numerous awards and distinctions, among which are the Master to Popularity; the Award of the Press Association of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura on two occasions; Distinguished of Tourism by the Cabildo of Lanzarote; Best Trajectory of Family Business; Island of Lanzarote Award, the highest tourist distinction of the island; Medal for Tourist Excellence in Business Activity, awarded by the Government of the Canary Islands; and First Prize for the Best Expansion Network in the Canary Islands, awarded by the Chambers of Commerce and the Government of the Canary Islands.
