SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, March 15 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Turismo de Canarias has already started the process to put 8,000 new La Palma Tourist Bonds into circulation, to which it will allocate a budget of 2 million euros.
This was announced this Wednesday by the Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce of the Government of the Canary Islands, Yaiza Castilla, in a meeting that she held with the Cabido de La Palma and representatives of the island’s tourism employers, to whom she explained the different measures that were are being carried out to boost the arrival of visitors and thus promote the recovery of the palm economy.
Yaiza Castilla met with the Minister of Tourism, Raúl Camacho; the president of the Federation of Entrepreneurs of La Palma (Fedepalma), David Fuentes; the president of the Center for Tourism Initiatives (CIT) Tedote, Óscar León; and the president of the CIT Insular, José Tomás Rodríguez, while Ashotel attended by its president, Jorge Marichal; the manager, Juan Pablo González; and the vice president of Ashotel in La Palma, Carlos García.
During the meeting, Castilla wanted to recall that the La Palma Tourist Vouchers launched last year were widely accepted, since almost 20,000 virtual cards were activated, of which 12,000 were spent. If it is taken into account that at least two people traveled on each trip, we can speak of a minimum of 24,000 beneficiary users who used their voucher in one of the 203 establishments attached to the program.
Due to this success, Turismo de Canarias decided to reissue them and expand the initial item of 600,000 euros up to 2 million euros to put 8,000 tourist vouchers valued at 250 euros into circulation, in order to encourage the arrival of Canarian visitors to La Palma and peninsular.
“We are betting again on this initiative that represents a direct economic injection to the whole economy of La Palma, since accommodation, restaurants, cafeterias and active tourism and whale watching companies participate in this program, that is, a wide range of complementary activities that make the tractor effect of the program reach all sectors”, affirmed the counselor.
Turismo de Canarias has already initiated contact with the 203 establishments that joined last year, to expedite their renewal in case they want to be part of the program again, and on March 27 the adhesion form will be activated for companies that are interested in register.
On April 10, a promotional campaign will be launched on the islands aimed at encouraging the participation of residents in the raffle for these bonuses, the first of which will take place on April 24, so the cards can begin to be used from from April 25.
A month later, on May 24, the second draw will be held and the registration form will be closed. The cards, valued at 250 euros, can be used in establishments participating in the program until December 31.
PROMOTION WITH JESUS CALLEJA
The counselor also explained during the meeting that Turismo de Canarias continues to work to promote air connectivity on La Palma and informed that, for the moment, there is already interest from two airlines to operate new routes with the island. Castilla recalled that 3.6 million euros are planned for the creation of 18 new routes during the years 2023 and 2024, co-financed with the Secretary of State for Tourism.
In addition, Castilla mentioned the initiative launched by the Ministry to promote the marine biodiversity that arose in La Palma as a result of the eruption of the volcano, as well as the quality of its skies for stargazing, joining the dissemination project led by by Jesús Calleja and the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO).
The well-known presenter went to record on the Isla Bonita accompanied by a very popular guest, the astronaut and former Minister of Science and Innovation, Pedro Duque, with whom he went up to the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory to disseminate the astronomical qualities of the Canary Islands sky.
“With this informative communication action, we will not only extol at a national level the quality and geological heritage of the waters of the Isla Bonita, but we will also emphasize the beauty of its landscapes and the clarity of its skies, highly appreciated in the field of astrotourism, which will undoubtedly boost the arrival of visitors”, concluded the counselor.
