Yesterday, Costa Adeje celebrated its formal debut at the Madrid International Tourism Fair (FITUR 2022) with an act presided over by the mayor, José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga, and which was attended by the Councilor for Tourism, Adolfo Alonso Ferrera; the president of the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation, Jorge Marichal; and various guests from the business world and public administrations present at the fair.
Adeje, led by Rodríguez Fraga, focused his speech on explaining the importance of destinations such as the one he represents, in which the sun and the beach are essential elements. “We cannot ignore that tourists come to the Canary Islands for the sun and the beach, it is our main attraction,” said the mayor, who claimed “the fact that we are blue destinations in which blue dominates, through the sea, the sky and everything that surrounds it and that must be valued because it is an element that is envied in other places”. All this without forgetting the green, essential as sustainable destinations that constantly seek excellence, he explained, after insisting on the concept of blue destinations of “enormous value”.
Adeje, which in the last year before the pandemic accumulated 10.5 million overnight stays, has the largest 5-star facility in Europe, with 7,568 beds in that category, which meant the highest profitability in Spain in 2019. In addition, the mayor He recalled that 83.3% of the territory is protected, which speaks of the environmental commitment that is maintained in the municipality and that, he said, is also part of the blue destinations.
The presentation tried to convey to all the representatives and agents of the sector the bonanzas of the destination, which according to the independent observer Exceltur was the most competitive in Spain in 2019, the last year before the pandemic plunged the sector into a deep crisis of the that hasn’t come out yet.
The mayor of Adeje stressed that the city council and the municipality have tried to make every effort so that in these two years of pandemic “this good position is not lost and we are ready to recover the normality that sustains our economy”; According to Rodríguez Fraga, for this, all “our strategies and projects must be reinforced, in such a way that sustainability and excellence continue to be our most important lines of work”.
Adeje is very clear that this work must be done in a collective effort by all the agents that have influence in the sector, the private part and the public part, “and in that sense, we must say that the companies, in Costa Adeje, have been up to the task and we should congratulate them because they have invested in improving the hotels and the offer”. In Adeje, new five-star hotel facilities have been opened during the pandemic, “this must be highlighted because it generates a productive fabric and offers all kinds of opportunities for our people,” explained the mayor.
For this reason, Jorge Marichal was present at the presentation of Costa Adeje, as a representative of the employers’ association and tourism investors. The president of CEHAT and Ashotel highlighted the benefits of Costa Adeje, he said, “as the best sun and beach destination in Europe” and, in addition, explained that in recent years more than 50 hotels have been invested in improving hotel establishments in Adeje. million euros, which rise to more than 200 if we talk about the last 5 years. “That means that Costa Adeje is a destination that does not generate fear in investors, in this case hoteliers, because they also get quick responses from the administration,” Marichal explained.
The councilor for tourism, for his part, insisted on the main values that usually characterize Costa Adeje and complement its offer to tourists. “It is about maintaining our level of excellence in matters such as the Water Parks, in the gastronomic offer in which we have two Michelin Stars, in leisure or culture, with large events in which we are working and that we will develop as soon as possible. pandemic allows it, “said Alonso. In this sense, Adeje has on its agenda a concert by Alejandro Sanz, the symphonic concert, the women’s festival and other top-level events. All this without forgetting that sport has also been a benchmark thanks to the first-class facilities in which world-renowned athletes train or the commitment to the fashion sector through the Tenerife Fashion Beach.
To conclude, the mayor wanted to insist on the importance of renewal, of betting on health security and not forgetting that infrastructures must be taken care of because without them, as happens with the sun and the beach, tourists would not come to our islands ” streets in good condition, clean, well lit, safe and everything we want not only for tourists, but above all for our neighbors who, after all, are the ones whose lives should be helped by tourism ”, commented Rodríguez Fraga.
The mayor, who also attended the official presentation of the Canary Islands stand, chaired by the Minister of Tourism, Yaiza Castilla, and which was attended by videoconference by Ángel Víctor Torres. In addition, Roddríguez Fraga, as president of the Association of Tourist Municipalities of the Canary Islands (AMTC), presided over the presentation of this association together with Onalia Bueno, mayor of Mogán and vice-president of the AMTC, and the Minister of Tourism of the Government of the Canary Islands, Yaiza Castilla.
Throughout the morning, the mayor of Adeje and the Councilor for Tourism, had time to attend various media, both from the islands and national and international, and also to accompany the ownership and management of the Royal River Luxury hotel Hotel at the award ceremony that accredits it as the best hotel in Spain for the FIJET association. Rodríguez Fraga and Alonso Ferrera congratulated the owners of the hotel for this award.
Rodríguez Fraga, together with the minister
Another of the important moments of the first official day of FITUR 2022 was the participation of the mayor in the round table “Tourism Experience of Beaches and Coast of Spain”, organized by the Ministry of Tourism and which included the participation and preamble of the minister, Reyes Maroto.
The mayor, who debated with different directors of companies and organizations that focus part of their work on improving services and proposals on the beaches of the main destinations in Spain. In this forum, Rodríguez Fraga highlighted the importance of having good services on the beaches, beyond the essential and quality services that have to do with aspects of comfort or hygiene, but also “constantly improving the alternative and leisure offer that complements all the proposal we have on the Spanish coasts”. The mayor participated in this talk in his capacity as president of the Alliance of Sun and Beach Tourism Municipalities (AMT), which held a board meeting in the Spanish capital on Tuesday afternoon.
In his speech at the presentation of the colloquium he spoke of the importance of the role of destinations and explained the call that his ministry has published to access financing funds that help in the best of the proposals of the Spanish beach and coast.
The AMT, made up of Adeje, Arona, Benidorm, Calviá, Lloret de Mar, Salou, San Bartolomé de Tirajana and Torremolinos, is carrying out various studies to improve the competitiveness of destinations to equip themselves with better governance tools, improve their financing to increase the level of excellence and quality of the services they offer, not only to tourists, but also to residents. In addition, the AMT tries to access national and European funding through projects that have to do with security, sustainability, digitization or intelligence.
Regarding the public agenda of Costa Adeje for this Thursday, January 21, it is worth highlighting the presentation of the Villa de Adeje Rally which, like every year, will take place at the CICAR stand, one of the main sponsors of the event. Organized by the Escudería Villa de Adeje, it will be attended by the president of the Escudería, Poli Delgad, as well as the mayor and regional and island authorities.
At 11:00 a.m., the mayor will participate in a round table discussion about financing and the definition of a tourist municipality. A table in which the rest of the mayors of the AMT will also participate. Technical meetings, with potential investors, inside and outside the fair; or attention to various media will complete part of the agenda of Costa Adeje and its representatives this Thursday at Fitur.
