(3rd June). ‘Recommencement Of Work On Madeira Palácio Hotel Dependent On Financing Of €60 Million – Administrator of Fibeira assures that whatever the outcome, the process will be completed in the Summer’. Fibeira, the owner of the hotel, is negotiating with a bank to obtain the loan, and says the discussion is on track, although given the high value of the request and the current economic conditions it is premature to say that agreement will be reached. The administrator also met on Tuesday afternoon with the Hotel Workers Trade Union and some of the 116 workers, to discuss their employment situation. The termination of contracts has already been started with older employees, and the trade union is not unhappy with that.
(1st June). ‘Madeira And Poland Connected Weekly – SATA started on Tuesday the first of two operations to Eastern Europe’. The connection goes to / from Varsóvia every Tuesday, finishing on 27th April 2010. The first flight has 312 passenger bookings. On the 16th June another weekly flight goes to Pojznan in Poland, and that service will also continue to 27th April 2010. In 2008 9,000 Polish tourists came to Madeira.
‘5,683 More Madeirans Submit IRS – Higher incomes, pensioners, and tax dodgers lead to more taxes paid’. The efficiency of the ‘tax machine’, the obligations of more pensioners, and the start of new professional lives explain the fact that the number of tax returns rose over the last two years by 15.6%. 111,533 tax returns were delivered this year. System cross-referencing with employers, social security, and other entities identified Madeirans actively living outside the tax contribution system. Use of the internet to submit tax returns increased 22.2%, representing 77,766 submission, or 69.7% of the total, thought to be encouraged by the earlier repayment or tax rebates. The total income declared amounted to just over €1.6 billion.
A new campaign to drink ‘Madeira on the rocks’ is to launch in the next few days. The Institute of Wine is going to repeat its initiative of last year that introduced to many the pleasures of Madeira Wine with ice. The campaign by poster and other methods, that will include ‘tasting in bars’, is mainly aimed at 30 to 45 year olds. The Madeira market for Madeira Wine represents 25% of the total consumption, or 530 thousand litres per year, worth €3.8 million.
A Wind Orchestra, the Metal Quintet, the Orchestra of Accordions, and the Clarinet Ensemble will entertain on the streets of Funchal on Saturdays, between the 4th (6th?) and 26th (27th?) June. The performances are are part of the Atlantic Festival, and start at 7pm on the Avenida Arriaga. The dates given in the Diário don’t correspond with Saturdays, so I inserted the dates in brackets.