SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE/MADRID, June 17. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The airports of the Canary Islands received a total of 890,018 international passengers last May, 458.7% more than in the same month last year and just 1.4% compared to May 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, according to data made public this Friday by Turespaña that place the archipelago with an 11.7% market share.
The ‘low cost’ companies continue to prevail in the archipelago with a total of 532,024 international passengers, 16.9% more than in May 2019, while the traditional ones contract 19.9% to 357,994 passengers.
In the accumulated of the first five months of the year, the islands have captured a total of 4,897,589 international passengers, 14.5% less than before the pandemic.
By airports, Tenerife South is the one that performs best with a growth of 0.8% over May 2019 and 349,699 passengers, while Gran Canaria is still 2.9% below -205,566 passengers-, which the same as that of Lanzarote, with 189,771 and 2.1% less.
In the country as a whole, tourism is recovering strongly since last May it received more than 7.7 million passengers from international airports, which represents 87% of those who arrived in the same month of 2019.
This figure of 7.7 million passengers represents an increase of 454.1% compared to the figure registered in the same month of 2021 and -12.6% compared to May 2019.
60.6% of these travelers chose low-cost carriers (CBC) to travel, with an increase of +653% compared to 2021 (-10% compared to 2019), while those who traveled in traditional companies, 39, The remaining 4% increased by +294.1% compared to May 2021 (-16.2% compared to May 2019).
57.8% of the total number of passengers came from the European Union, experiencing an increase of +495.7% compared to 2021 (-19.2% compared to 2019), while the flow from the rest of the world, which represented the remaining 42.2% grew by +760.7% compared to 2021 (-26.8%, compared to 2019).
“Our islands are approaching pre-pandemic figures, with recovery percentages of over 95% and which are favored by the return of one of our main markets, the British. Undoubtedly, one of the elements that, unlike what happened in 2021, is allowing a solid reactivation of the international tourist that our country receives”, valued the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto.
Although international air passengers are not equivalent to international tourists because they also include residents of Spain returning from an international airport, the vast majority are tourists.
FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM IN ‘LOW COST’
In May, passengers issued to Spain increased in all the main countries. Comparing with the pre-pandemic figures (May 2019), the markets that show the greatest recovery are the Netherlands, which reduces its fall to -0.5%, Ireland (-0.9%) and Denmark (-1, 0%). At the other extreme, the market showing the least recovery is the United States (-22.8%), followed by the United Kingdom (-16.4%).
One in four passengers came from the United Kingdom and went, mainly, to the Balearic Islands. 77.6% of passengers from the United Kingdom flew with a low-cost airline, being the leader in arrivals in these companies, contributing 32.8% of the total (+5,496% compared to 2021; -12.3% compared to to 2019).
In passengers arriving on traditional companies (the remaining 22.4%), the United Kingdom ranked second, behind Germany, contributing 14.5% of the total (+2,160% compared to 2021; -27.9% in comparison with 2019).
In total, Spanish airports received a total of 1.9 million passengers from this market, which represents a degree of recovery of this market of 83.6% compared to 2019.
1.2 million passengers arrived from Germany, who went mainly to the Balearic Islands. In the case of this market, the proportion of passengers who choose traditional companies over ‘low cost’ is distributed practically to 50%. (50.7% in traditional companies compared to 49.3% in low cost). The degree of recovery of this market, compared to 2019, is 85.4%.
For its part, Italy emitted 644,663 passengers, who flew mainly to Catalonia and Madrid. Eight out of ten passengers from Italy traveled on low-cost airlines.
France issued 8.2% of total passengers in May, showing an expansion of +233.9% compared to 2021 (-3.3% compared to May 2019), which especially favored Madrid and Catalonia. 71.1% of French passengers traveled on low-cost companies, while the remaining 28.9% used traditional companies.
Markets such as the Netherlands, Denmark or Ireland reach levels of recovery similar to the pre-pandemic with percentages reaching 99%.
BALEARIC ISLANDS, MADRID AND CATALONIA, COMMUNITIES OF DESTINATION
The growth in the set of the six autonomous communities with the most arrivals (which have a share of 97.1% of the total) was +443.3% compared to May 2021 (-12.4% compared to May 2019) . The Balearic Islands was the community with the most arrivals (21.7% of the total), followed by Madrid and Catalonia.
Among the top six, Catalonia was the one that registered the highest year-on-year growth (+681.6%), followed by Andalusia (+549.1%). Compared to May 2019, the Canary Islands are the ones that show the greatest recovery in arrivals (-1.4%), followed by the Balearic Islands (-4.5%).
Madrid was the community with the highest share of arrivals in traditional companies (41.1%) and Catalonia the one that registered the highest increase compared to May 2021 (+488.3%).
Regarding the traffic of low-cost companies, the Balearic Islands was the community with the highest share in arrivals (25.1%), with Madrid experiencing the greatest growth (+1,095%).
