SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Oct. 4 (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce of the Government of the Canary Islands has launched the call to encourage the creation of 18 new international air routes with La Palma. Through the public company Turismo de Islas Canarias, up to 200,000 euros will be contributed for each newly created route, whose sales will be reinforced by carrying out marketing campaigns in the countries of origin.
In summer, the connectivity of the Isla Bonita with foreign countries fell by 16.8%, a drop that is expected to increase in winter to 21.8%. “For this reason, the purpose of this aid is focused on increasing international connections with the aim of attracting more European tourists,” explained the Minister of Tourism, Yaiza Castilla.
A decrease that contrasts with connectivity with the peninsula, which increased by 103% this summer, an upward trend that will continue this winter, with 37.4% more, an option that may allow, however, connecting flights from the main European countries, although it is not considered sufficient.
This national increase is also being reinforced by the La Palma Tourist Bonds, launched together with the central government with a budget of 6.6 million euros, of which one million euros was allocated to promotional campaigns national and regional and 5.6 million euros to the putting into circulation of 20,000 bonds of 250 euros each, divided into seven monthly draws.
To date, this initiative has had a total of 204,267 participants, 202 establishments adhering to the program and 19,310 vouchers activated amounting to 4,828,500 euros, of which more than two million euros have already been consumed.
“Now is the time to prioritize connections between La Palma and European markets,” Castilla insisted, explaining that the 18 routes that could receive these incentives have been selected both for complying with legal requirements and for others of interest.
“We have prioritized that they be routes with the capitals of countries that are no longer operational on the islands, that belong to the main issuing markets and even that have already had connectivity with La Palma in the past, which will undoubtedly facilitate their recovery,” he assured. the counselor. The selected routes connect La Palma with Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
In addition, Turismo de Canarias has opted for routes with important cities in Germany and the United Kingdom, which have airports with a large volume of flights to the rest of the islands and that still do not connect with La Palma, and has also included other important markets such as France.
The call, which has already been sent for publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (Doue), is carried out within the framework of the Flight Development Fund authorized by the European Commission for management by Tourism of the Canary Islands.
In order to grant the incentives, a series of requirements must be met, including that they be exclusively international routes that are new to La Palma or that the companies commit to operating the route for at least two years.
The maximum amount of the incentive may not exceed 50% of the airport taxes and the call will remain open indefinitely, which will allow the airlines to have the necessary time to plan and promote the routes.
