At 37 years old, in October 2019 he began his career as a political position, when he replaced David Pérez as municipal head of Tourism. Technician in Cultural Tourism and Heritage Management, he has had to deal with the most critical moment of the main economic activity.
For the second year in a row, businessmen consider the tourist summer to be lost. Match?
We are a month and a half away from the end of the summer and it is evident that tourism has dropped around the world, to begin with because there are fewer flight offers, coupled with the health crisis. Fortunately, many jobs are maintained through temporary employment regulation files (ERTE). It is evident that we are very concerned about the recovery of employment in the municipality.
To try to get out of this crisis, the sector puts a very varied offer on the market. From your perspective, could it devalue the Arona destination taking into account the value and importance of the hotel plant?
On the contrary. Having a varied offer allows the municipality to have different options to resume the activity. In any case, we all have to take into account both the post-pandemic world and the climate crisis when revaluing ourselves as a tourist destination.
How important is the scarcity or non-existence of rental car supply in tourism?
It is relative. It affects the vehicle rental sector more, but there are transport alternatives so that the people who visit us can get to know not only the municipality, but the region and the island as a whole.
The bottle is a problem in the pandemic situation. Tourists practice it here. What impact does it have? Is it a losing battle?
The bottle is a cultural problem, not a conjunctural one. Before the pandemic there were also. We have recently seen how officials from the National Police and the Local Police have had to be employed in evicting beaches in the South, as in the cases of Las Vistas and Troya, places where people go after the establishments close. Mass tourism brings with it these types of situations, but it is clear that changing these dynamics cannot be achieved overnight.
The excursions to the cetaceans is a very relevant claim today. Up to what point?
It is important that tourists are interested in the fauna and flora of the Canary Islands and Arona, in this case. It is also part of our heritage. That is why there must be a control, so that the life of these species is not overcrowded and harmed.
What is your opinion of the construction of a port in Fonsalía?
The mayor and the government team are clear that they must bet on strengthening the port of Los Cristianos and improving, also, the town, the accesses, etc. Both the pandemic and climate change, as well as experiences such as that of the Port of Granadilla, should make us reflect on the suitability of certain projects. But not only that. Los Cristianos deserves a comprehensive commitment from the Cabildo and the Government of the Canary Islands. This has been claimed by the Arona City Council, which has presented a complete project of urban regeneration and improvement of mobility for Los Cristianos. It is a document that covers from the port to the South Highway itself, which includes the burying of Chayofita Avenue, generating a large boulevard and allowing heavy traffic to travel through an underground road to the TF-1. It is an opportunity not to be missed.
Is the response from the UK market what you expected?
The Government of the United Kingdom has kept the Canary Islands at amber level, despite the increase in the Accumulated Incidence. It is necessary to understand that the pandemic has affected all countries and all people. So it is normal that many people, at least this year, have chosen to remain in their countries of origin. Just as here the Government of the Canary Islands has raffled bonuses, in Europe many governments are promoting their domestic, national tourism.
What is the municipal government’s commitment as the future tourism modality for the municipality?
It is an issue that must be analyzed and agreed with the sector, calmly and with a long-term perspective.
El Mojón is sold as a panacea for Arona. Touristically, is it?
There are no panaceas for any sector, but a lot of work. The important thing here is to carry out a plan that has been waiting for many years. We must not lose sight of the fact that it is a private land exchange and that it is those individuals who are trying to exercise their rights. The role of the Arona City Council is to ensure that this entire process generates employment and opportunities and that it reverts with the corresponding transfers, with the large parks that will become for public use or the plot of cultural use, essential for us.
Arona is the municipality with the largest hotel plant on the island. What is its strength?
The quality of the facilities, the enormous experience, in addition to having the wide variety of the offer.
And its weakness?
Dependence on external factors. It is unlikely that the level of air flights in 2019, internationally, will recover before the end of 2023, as assured by specialists and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) itself.
It seems that the natural pools will be relevant elements of tourist attraction. In Rasca there are. Have they considered it?
In Rasca, we are waiting for the regional government to finish processing the file for the expansion of the Nature Reserve, promoted by the mayor, José Julián Mena, an initiative that had the support of the municipal plenary session. Perhaps some councilor was thinking of building a golf course there, but it is absolutely unfeasible. Our priority is to expand the reserve to protect as much as possible a special area, not only in Arona, but in Tenerife. The conservation of Rasca is fundamental, so nothing will be done to go against that.
