The October 12 °also called Hispanic Heritage Day, commemorates not only the day of the Virgen del Pilar but also the discovery of the American continent by Christopher Columbus on a mission sponsored by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain and is a holiday throughout the country. The Canary Islands Government it does not include this day as one of the holidays of the year of commercial opening in all the islands, although it does in some.
Tenerife is out of the commercial opening of October 12, a day on which shops on the islands of El Hierro and La Palma, in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, in the province of Las Palmas, can open. In the same situation as Tenerife are La Gomera and Gran Canaria.
Nevertheless on October 12 there will be shops open in Tenerife, for two reasons main legally guaranteed: decision of the merchant and area declared as of great tourist influx.
In the first case, according to the commercial law, merchants can freely decide whether to open as long as they do not exceed 90 hours in the whole of the week.
In the second case, in the Canary Islands there are areas of great tourist influx, which can cover the entire municipality or only parts of it. In Santa Cruz de Tenerife and La Lagua, for example, the historic quarters of the two cities are considered area of great tourist influx. The coastal area of the municipality of Candelaria, the historic center of La Orotava, as well as the municipalities of Adeje and Puerto de la Cruz are also areas of great tourist influx in Tenerife.
So that, The shops that open in Tenerife on October 12 with total security are those in the areas with a large tourist influx.
