Tenerife loses competitiveness, millions of euros and many jobs faced with the paralysis of its main congress palace, the Magmasituated in Costa Adejeand dependent on the Canarias Congress Bureau Tenerife (CCB Tenerife), agency of the Government of the Canary Islands.
The latest data offered by the Executive Department of Tourism indicates that these events generate 178 million euros annually in the Canary Islands. The majority go directly from the municipalities of the South of Tenerife to Gran Canaria, where venues such as Expomeloneras are an example for specialized agencies, the so-called MICE segment, and manage to capture more than half of the turnover. This affects hotels, catering companies, lighting, sound and much more.
A situation that, as a businessman explained to this newspaper a few days ago, “gets swept under the rug” and is not talked about. Privately, all the actors involved complain, but few want to make statements about it.
The Magma concession company itself, Blue Marketing Events, and its CEO, José Chiyah, admit that, each year, they make a hundred budgets for holding conferences in the South. However, he assures that none of the companies want to hold their events in this architectural jewel, a situation for which he blames the hotel sector.
This version contradicts, however, the fact that, previously, this conference center hosted large international conferences, the last of which was in 2015: the International Golf Travel Market. The agencies say that, when management passed to Blue Marketing in 2014, the problems of last-minute price increases became constant, as well as the poor condition of the building and the lack of air conditioning, not to mention basic documentation related to security and civil liability.
“The Government and the Council know it”
José Chiyah does not deny these problems, which he attributes to the state in which the facilities were handed over to him. “They were totally devastated,” he says.
The president of the Canarian Association of the MICE Industry, Mauricio Alemán, assures that, within the framework of the organization, the issue “has been addressed several times because, really, in Tenerife there is no infrastructure for congresses due to the Magma situation, which is being used more for parties. The agencies no longer offer it and the situation is known to both the Canary Islands Government and Tenerife Tourism,” he assures.
“If we make the comparison – he emphasizes – Gran Canaria has the Alfredo Kraus, the fairgrounds and Expomeloneras, which is the one with a model most similar to that of Magma. In Tenerife the Auditorium is complicated and in the South, where the accommodation plant is, there is only the Magma”, he indicates.
Marcos Albornoz, from TenTravel DMC, insists that “Magma is not attractive. I take clients to Expomeloneras, where the client has a fantastic platform. When Magma opened, however, we did business there. The problems begin in 2016” with obstacles in the building, insurance and air conditioning, which generates a transfer from the South to Gran Canaria.
