SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 30 May. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The hotel and non-hotel facilities in the Canary Islands closed the first four months of this year with 25.7 million overnight stays and 20.8% are still far from the same period in 2019, the pre-pandemic reference year, according to data from the Istac Tourist Accommodation Survey .
These data, analyzed by the Ashotel Tourism Competitiveness and Sustainability Observatory, reinforce steps towards recovery, but the figures for that reference year have not yet been exceeded in the indicated quarterly period, as warned by the tourist employers.
In its analysis, Ashotel has incorporated for the first time the data referring to the eastern province with the aim of having a more complete vision of the progress of the tourism sector in the Islands.
As for travelers staying in tourist establishments, the Canary Islands closed the first four months of 2022 with a total of 3.92 million travelers staying, which is still 14% less than the same period in 2019, which closed with 4. 56 million.
Regarding accumulated income, this first quarter of the year registered a total of 1,276 million euros throughout the Canary Islands, 6.7% less than the 1,368 million euros of the same pre-pandemic period. This figure, which is still negative, however, represents a smaller drop in percentage terms than that referring to lodged travelers and overnight stays, which means that the average expenditure made in accommodation establishments is higher.
By islands, only El Hierro presents positive percentages compared to the first quarter of 2019 in terms of overnight stays, travelers staying and income, the latter indicator to which the island of Lanzarote also adds positively, although with a more moderate rise.
In the rest of the islands, these three tourism indicators still reflect negative behavior. The worst data is recorded by La Palma, which continues to reflect the effects of the pandemic crisis and the volcanic eruption, with a drop in overnight stays this quarter of 65.3% compared to the same period in 2019, followed by La Gomera (-30 .9%), Gran Canaria (-29.4%), Lanzarote (-17%), Tenerife (-15%) and Fuerteventura (-14.8%).
With regard to staying travelers, the trend is the same as for overnight stays on six islands in the Archipelago: only El Hierro improved its data and registered an increase of 20.5% compared to the first four months of 2019. The islands of Fuerteventura ( -6%) and Tenerife (-8.8%) registered the least marked falls, while La Palma (-50.5%), La Gomera (-31.9%), Gran Canaria (-20.5%) and Lanzarote (-14.9%) complete the rest.
In relation to the total income in accommodation establishments by islands, to the positive data of El Hierro (1,041 million, +38.2%) is added Lanzarote (211 million, +1.84%). They are followed, with the least pronounced falls, by Tenerife (492 million, -4.4%) and Fuerteventura (163 million, -7.08%); La Gomera experienced a drop of 17.3% and La Palma, 57.6%.
Regarding the average occupancies of last April, one of whose weeks coincided with Holy Week, the average throughout the Canary Islands was 68.4%. The island with the best average occupancy was Lanzarote (77.2%), followed by Tenerife (70.4%), Fuerteventura (67.7%), Gran Canaria (62.6%), La Gomera (53.4%) , La Palma (47.9%) and El Hierro (25.6%). All these percentage occupancy rates per bed represent an improvement on all the islands compared to April 2019, except for La Palma. In 2019 Holy Week also coincided in April.
Among the reasons that justify better behavior of some islands compared to others, in the case of the larger ones, the fact stands out that those in which the British market is more numerous, such as Tenerife or Lanzarote, the data are more positive than where the Nordic and German markets have traditionally been larger, such as Gran Canaria or Fuerteventura. The Nordics have hardly moved this winter and the Germans have been more conservative when it comes to travel, much more so than the British.
