SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 27 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Government of the Canary Islands celebrated ‘World Tourism Day’ this Tuesday with an institutional act that featured the award to the Activa Canarias association and the confirmation of the tourism leadership of the islands and the return to relative normality, with the forecast closing the year with 14 million tourists, just 6% less than before the pandemic.
This return to normality has been achieved “despite the numerous crises that have been experienced, which both the private and public sectors have been able to manage hand in hand with excellent results for our projection abroad”, as stated in her speech by the minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Yaiza Castilla, who presided over the event that took place at the Hotel Escuela Santa Cruz and which featured a performance by Tenerife tenor Besay Pérez, accompanied on piano by Diego Expósito.
Castilla recalled the hard times experienced in recent years by the tourism sector, with the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook in 2019, the pandemic in 2020, the La Palma volcano in 2021 and this year with the war in Ukraine.
In fact, the situation on the ‘Isla Bonita’ was the focus of a large part of the counselor’s speech, who had words of empathy with the people who have been so seriously affected in their work, in their investments and in their future prospects .
To alleviate this situation, Castilla recalled that both his Ministry and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism and the Cabildo palmero manage support measures worth more than 9 million euros aimed at the recovery of activity throughout the island territory already mitigate, in part, the economic losses caused.
Even with all the work that remains to be done in palm lands and with the uncertainty ahead of winter due to the socioeconomic consequences of the conflict unleashed in Ukraine, the minister confirmed that the islands are now closer to normality than they have been in the last 36 months.
A normality that, in addition, “has been accompanied by good news”, such as the recovery this summer of national tourism in the Canary Islands, which already exceeds pre-covid levels, with very positive figures and great dynamism since Easter, as he recalled Castile.
ALMOST 8 MILLION VISITORS SO FAR THIS YEAR
The global data for the first seven months of the year, including national and international tourism, are close to those of the same period in 2019, with almost eight million visitors, only 9.5% less than in the same pre-pandemic period, collects a Council note.
“The perspectives until the end of the year reinforce this return to normality that we long for so much”, continued the counselor.
According to the data managed by Turismo de Canarias, 2022 would close with some 14 million tourists, around 6% less than in 2019, but with a higher turnover, above 17,000 million euros, as a result of a greater average spending.
For the counselor, these are data that confirm that the Canary Islands will come out of this time of crisis “reinforced” because many of the attributes that have made the archipelago strong throughout history “have been boosted” and the islands have been reunited ” with the tourism leadership that has sustained the Canarian tourism industry for decades”.
A leadership supported by a large number of pillars, among which “the wide and varied offer of active and nature tourism stands out, which constitutes a first-rate tourist attraction for the archipelago, far from the limited and happily surpassed conception of the complementary offer,” he explained.
Along these lines, he said that the “extraordinary diversity” of the archipelago is one of the main factors of differentiation and its defense and promotion constitute one of the “main concerns” of the tourism policy developed by the Ministry.
Castilla added that this diversity leads to a more resilient tourism, more competitive and more aligned with contemporary tourism consumption trends, as well as with a greater capacity to generate value for the economy and citizens of the Canary Islands.
AWARD FOR ACTIVA CANARIAS
Hence, the ‘Canary Islands Tourism Award for Excellence’ has been awarded this year to the Canarian Association of Active Tourism Activa Canarias, which the jury chose for “promoting a responsible and quality conception that has driven constant improvement and observable of this experiential tourism typology”.
“Today the Canary Islands is also an active tourism destination with a high capacity for leadership thanks to the work of companies and entities such as Activa Canarias and its associates. May this award serve as recognition of its work and as an encouragement for its continuity, because it is truly a protagonist of our diverse tourism model,” Castilla assured before presenting the award to its president, José Luis Echevarría.
In his acceptance speech, Echevarría explained that the association “is clear that it is time to transform the tourism model of the Canary Islands and to offer youth from inland areas, but also from the coast and cities, the possibility of undertaking a sustainable economic activity that values the best productive resource, which is tourism”.
Echevarría recalled the launch this year, together with the Ministry, of the Plan for the Reactivation of Active Tourism in the Canary Islands, “a project that has favored the digitization of the sector and that has provided small businesses and the self-employed with a ‘marketplace’ where they can market their experiences.”
Another of the strategic lines that it shares with Turismo de Canarias is that of decarbonisation.
“We are very aware of the historical moment in which we live, in which we are immersed in a climate crisis. Tourism cannot be oblivious to this and we must take it into account in all our actions. For this reason, Activa Canarias measures the carbon footprint of its activity and foresees compensation actions, in a red line that it considers non-negotiable and basic to advance”, explained the president of this association that brings together more than 70 active tourism companies.
