The economist assures that the islands “are doing better” than the statistics say and highlights their potential to provide services in Africa
SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, March 23 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The economist Gonzalo Bernardos has admitted this Thursday that the Canary Islands Special Zone (ZEC) “has not been a panacea”, rather “an appetizer in a hearty meal”, since it has barely generated some 14,500 jobs in twenty years and for this reason he has claimed make a more intense promotion of your incentives.
In a conference given at the Chamber of Commerce of Santa Cruz de Tenerife organized by ‘La Gaveta Económica’, he said that the Canary Islands must “discard” the search for “startups” since “many are going to disappear” due to the rise in interest rates and choose to attract “consolidated companies” playing with the attractiveness of the “climate and well-being” that it brings to its workers.
For this, he has demanded to improve promotion, but not through politicians who go on tour, but by entrusting that work to consultants “and pay them according to results” so that they “bring the name of the Canary Islands to the whole world.”
If they do so, he pointed out, the Canary Islands will have a “more diversified” production structure and will be “one of the big winners of the future.”
He has also pointed out that the islands “are doing better than official statistics indicate” because they normally “underestimate” the increase in GDP generated by tourism and has underlined their “spectacular geographical situation” that makes them “the Caribbean in Europe”.
In this sense, he has indicated that this allows him to attract tourism “all year long”, something that no other competing tourist destination can do, and that “guarantees two things”, an increase in the arrival of tourists and also in quality.
He has also pointed out that the Canary Islands, “logistically is a power”, since Africa is “the new Southeast Asia” that will consolidate when it gains “political stability” and European products can be supplied from the archipelago, something that “is wonderful for security” .
Regarding the incessant increase in the population in the Canary Islands, he commented that “to think that no population is going to reach paradise is to live in another world”, for which he predicts that the trend “will continue”, something that he sees as “an advantage , not a problem.”
What it is about, he said, is to “improve the quality of life” of citizens by promoting tourism, improving the productive structure and attracting companies.
The Deputy Minister of the Presidency of the Government of the Canary Islands, Antonio Olivera, who has introduced the economist, has highlighted the “optimism” of Bernardos, who sees the islands with “great potential for the future”.
He stressed that the Government works in the line of promoting the archipelago as an “ideal place to make investments” that generate employment and in “innovative sectors” and that it also “looks at Africa” which has great growth potential.
Along these lines, he has insisted that it is necessary to be “daring and daring” to develop the “potential” of the islands well and he has agreed with Bernardos on the “good prospects” that hang over the Canary Islands in the face of the “catastrophism” predicted by some formations policies.
As for European funds, he has admitted that there are “many restrictions” when it comes to executing them and he understands that the central government “must facilitate” their use because they are a “good opportunity” for the Canary Islands.
