Inaugurated in Puerto del Carmen a virtual Consumer office

The Puerto del Carmen Tourist Office has had a new European consumer information point since yesterday morning, the fourth of these characteristics to be installed in the Archipelago, after those that the Ministry of ...

November 7 2005 (18:28 WET)

The Puerto del Carmen Tourist Office has had a new European consumer information point since yesterday morning, the fourth of these characteristics to be installed in the Archipelago, after those that the Ministry of Tourism of the Government of the Canary Islands has put into operation in Puerto del Rosario (Fuerteventura) and in the tourist towns of Mogán and San Bartolomé de Tirajana, on the neighboring island of Gran Canaria.

The installation of these consumer information points is part of an initiative launched by the European Consumer Center, which depends on the National Consumer Institute, and which contemplates during its first phase the installation of a total of seven of these virtual offices in the Archipelago (Today the fifth is installed in the Tenerife municipality of La Laguna).

A computer touch screen

The presentation ceremony was attended by the general director of Commerce of the Government of the Canary Islands, Pedro Manuel Rodríguez Pérez, the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Consumption of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Lourdes Bernal, the mayor of Tías, José Juan Cruz Saavedra, and the Councilor for Tourism of the southern City Council, Antonio Pérez.

The Information Point is actually a computer touch screen, connected via the internet to the official website of the National Consumer Office, based in Madrid, so that both the affected tourist and any Spaniard who has suffered a problem abroad, can file a claim in their own language, as it is available in five different languages (Spanish, English, French, Italian and German).

Immediacy and convenience of the process

The advantages in relation to traditional consumer information offices lie, according to the general director of Consumption of the Government of the Canary Islands, Pedro Manuel Rodríguez Pérez, in the immediacy and convenience of the process, since by completing a simple questionnaire, the claim arrives instantly via "on-line" to the National Consumer Institute, which in turn forwards it to the European Consumer Center, which is responsible for mediating in the conflict.

"Taking advantage of the possibilities offered by new technologies, the European consumer information point gives the user the possibility to formulate any type of complaint and that it reaches Madrid in real time, where it is processed to the European Consumer Center," Rodríguez Pérez highlighted, who justified the choice of Puerto del Carmen as a point to install this virtual consumer service office, alluding to the large number of visitors that the town registers throughout the year.

Finally, the general director of Commerce highlighted the importance of this service in a community like the Canary Islands, a large reception center for foreign tourists, and where most of the claims are related to the hotel industry and travel agencies.

Additional Information

The European consumer information point also allows users to access information related to the Island and the municipality where it is located, so that they can know precise data of the place they visit.

In this sense, the information point installed in the Puerto del Carmen Tourist Office has a link with the website of the Cabildo's Tourist Board, and also with the domain of the Tías City Council, where visitors can resolve their doubts and know the main places of interest, as well as obtain information on hotels, restaurants, bus schedules, excursions, etc...

More than 40,000 visits in 2004

This new service reinforces the attention given to visitors from the Puerto del Carmen Tourist Office, which in the words of the mayor of the municipality, José Juan Cruz Saavedra, received a total of 40,000 visits during 2004. For this reason, he was extremely satisfied with the choice of the coastal town for the installation of this point, which is available "not only to those who visit us, but also to the residents themselves".

Finally, Lourdes Bernal took the opportunity to demand that this type of service soon reach other areas of the Island, something that Pedro Manuel Rodríguez did not rule out, who indicated that the objective of the Ministry is to gradually expand the number of information points throughout the Canary Islands.

Most read