The young aspirants who are participating in the contest Miss and Mister 2011 Fuerteventura visited the Cabildo. The president of the institution, Rita Diaz, and the manager of the Tourist Board, George Moses, joined together in wishing good luck to all participants and reminded them of the importance of knowing the island they represent if elected, received them. To assist in this the Tourist Board presented the participants with a gift bag and a series of promotional leaflets with information on cultural and tourist attractions of the island of Fuerteventura. The election of Miss and Mister Fuerteventura will be this Saturday 27 at 21.00 in the third floor of the Rotonda centre

The cut in the IGIC tax, from the current 5% to 2.75%, will come into force very soon. Once Parliament approves the Bill submitted by the government, and will be valid until the end of 2012. However, it applies only to new homes priced at under 150,000, which will be used for permanent residence. The conditions have disappointed estate agents in tourist areas given that the incentive is unlikely to stimulate sales of recently built holiday homes. The government says the cut is designed to provide help 'only to those who need it' but not to banks and developers in general, which has been a criticism of the VAT reduction in the rest of Spain.

The body of a baby finned pilot whale was found stranded on Fuerteventura yesterday. According to early autopsy results, released today, it most likely died of natural causes after suffering an infection. Initial analysis of the body has revealed that the whale had lesions characteristic of parasitic enteritis. There were almost no remnants of food inside, apparently because this illness made it difficult to eat, as explained to Efe Institute investigator Animal Health at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Manuel Arbelo.

EasyJet, the UK's largest airline, is launching a new route to Fuerteventura, in the Canary Islands, from its biggest base, London Gatwick. The inaugural flight will depart on 28th March 2012 and will fly twice weekly from Gatwick to Fuerteventura. Seats go on sale from today with fares starting from £35.99 (one way including taxes).

Balearic Islands, with 90.63%, led hotel occupancy in July, well ahead of the establishments in the Canary Islands, with 76.59%, and Catalonia, with 73.79%. According to the National Statistics Institute (INE), in the whole country there were 38 million overnight stays in hotels, which represented a 7.7% Increase over the same period in 2010.