José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga, Mayor of Adeje, and Adolfo Alonso Ferrera, Mayor of Tourism, presented yesterday, at a press conference, the work that the Costa Adeje destination will carry out this year in its participation in the Madrid International Tourism Fair (Fitur 2022 ), which will be held next week. They also detailed the strategies that have been developed in the municipality in recent months in the midst of the worst tourism crisis in history and the lines of work that they have already defined for the coming months.
The mayor assured that “Costa Adeje is mobilized in two key pieces: sustainability and excellence”. “Both are the leitmotif of our work, especially in these last two years in which the pandemic has come to remind us that this is not a time of change, it is a change of time,” he said. The blow of the pandemic on the main economic engine of the Canary Islands has been especially intense in Adeje. Not in vain, in times of pre-pandemic Costa Adeje is the most competitive destination in Spain, according to the latest tourism competitiveness report issued by Exceltur. This study places the municipality as the most competitive among the 15 most important, highlighting aspects such as the creation of jobs that, before the pandemic began, Adeje had almost 16,000 direct jobs in the sector. Adeje was also the destination with the most five-star hotel beds or the one with the highest hotel turnover, with almost 700 million euros.
“All these positive data turned around with the pandemic and the crisis generated by COVID-19,” said the mayor. Adeje took immediate measures aimed at freezing taxes or establishing aid for companies and freelancers in the local economic sector that had less muscle. The mayor explained that after this initial hemorrhage and focusing all efforts on health, social and economic emergencies, Adeje focused its work on “taking advantage of the break to accelerate all the processes of transformation and improvement of the destination that were already under way.” It is about updating the tourism model that will dominate in the coming years, making it more attractive to what tourism demands and that has to do with some fundamental axes: digitization, sustainability and intelligence, together with excellence.
In recent months, Adeje has launched the project of good health practices in the fight against COVID, a guarantee seal endorsed by the University Institute of Tropical Diseases and the University of La Laguna.
That was one of the first measures carried out during the pandemic in Adeje and aimed at reinforcing tourism. In addition, a project of six million euros co-financed by the Government of Spain was launched. This is an initiative that in a period of 18 months will provide the municipality with all the characteristics of a Smart Tourist Destination, the Adeje DTI, which is already being implemented and will serve to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of public services. “Our commitment to sustainability is absolute and this project contributes a lot in that line,” said Rodríguez Fraga, who added that “it will help improve the quality of the destination, the lives of our people, eliminate the carbon footprint and, incidentally, to make it clear to tourists that one of their main demands in Adeje is fulfilled”. Another project that will start to work in a few weeks is that of the energy communities. This initiative will serve so that homes, neighborhood communities and public buildings are nourished by renewable and clean photovoltaic energy, creating sustainable communities. “If we add to this project the productive forest, which is already a reality and harvests tons of food for our local Food Bank, we see that this work during the pandemic leaves us well positioned in our commitment to sustainability,” said the mayor.
Adeje has already approved the destination of more land and public spaces to expand this productive forest and carbon sink. It also works on similar projects within the framework of the Association of Tourist Municipalities of the Canary Islands, which have recently been designated by the Ministry of Tourism as pilot projects in terms of decarbonisation and efficiency of public services and endowed with a grant of eight million euros. . The improvement and renovation of public spaces and key infrastructures for the municipality and the destination, the projection of new spaces, such as a stadium or a new theater, which will be completed in a year, or the extension of the blue flags for 2022, are issues They have also accelerated. But Adeje has not stopped working on the traditional aspects that are promoted at a fair like Fitur. To all of the above is added the commitment to a quality offer in which proposals such as sports activities, leisure, cultural or social events, “in short, quality tourism associated with elements such as fashion or gastronomy in a of high-level hotels, commented the mayor Adolfo Alonso.
In the coming months, this municipality will hold events such as the Costa Adeje Fashion Beach or concerts by leading figures such as Alejandro Sanz. “Nor should we forget that in the midst of the pandemic, two Michelin-starred restaurants decided to locate here, something that helps us in that search for excellence,” he added.
The mayor also recalled that three hotels have been inaugurated, two of them five-star, and another seven have been renovated, with an investment of over 150 million.
The objective of Costa Adeje in Fitur is none other than to “reinforce our image, help both the Government and the Cabildo and the rest of the destinations on the islands in this work,” said Rodríguez Fraga. Adeje will do it hand in hand with the island administrations and also with the alliances of tourist municipalities.
Adeje’s agenda at Fitur starts with the inauguration of the Exceltur Forum and includes, among dozens of meetings and attendance at forums, two presentations at the AMTC stand, the mayor’s participation in a forum organized by the Ministry of Tourism and in a debate of the Hotel Technological Institute. Likewise, the traditional presentation of the Villa de Adeje Rally and meetings outside the fair will be held, such as the one planned with the Secretary of State for Tourism.
