How to get the Canary Islands out of the crisis that has affected its European tourism?By making it the centre of an idea and placing it at the forefront of a European movement: Say no to Winter Blues.It is the motto of a rebellion of Canarians who travel to Europe in order to state their opposition to this syndrome that affects millions of Europeans, and show the best way of overcoming the Winter Blues: in the Canaries.A strategy that consists of selecting volunteers who will carry out various missions in Europe, with informative value and easily used by the media.A strategy that in February of 2010, places the Canary Islands as the leader for increased foreign tourists, growing for the 1st time in 3 years above the Spanish average, which is still immersed in the crisis.

100 volunteers are chosen based on their influential ability in social networks and their commitment in uploading contents about the Canary Islands.With the first mission, we create a story for attracting the European media.Iceland, the European country with the darkest days during winter. The best place for announcing our active fight.With extensive news coverage, Canarians take the streets and recruit supporters.100 Icelanders travel to the Canary Islands and become new allies.Volunteers travel to the most important markets--the UK, Germany, Denmark and Sweden--generating new recruits against Winter Blues, sharing their experiences in social networks.Meanwhile, the media is informed about the results of a Pan-European survey about Winter Blues. The study once again confirms Canary Islands as the easiest way to overcome it.Finally, the Say no to Winter Blues advertising campaign is launched in 15 countries.

• 15,043,000€ in Free Publicity, tripling the campaign’s media budget. 750% more than the established objective.

• 253 millions of media impressions in the main markets (UK, Germany, Nordics and Spain).• 428 TV and Print media references, and 728 blog posts.

• The Canary Islands reached Spain´s highest international tourist quota (31.3%) since January 2005• A positive balance of 2.3%, recovering 16 points compared to last year. The best evolution since 2006. The rest of Spain continues immersed in the crisis, with -5.7%• A letter of appreciation from the Canary Islands Government in the press, recognising the volunteers´ efforts