Tenerife reinforces its historic leadership in the tourism sector of the Archipelago. A status that has never been in doubt but has even been consolidated after the covid crisis. The travel fever that has spread throughout post-pandemic Europe has widened to the extreme the gap separating Tenerife from the second island in the ranking of tourist preferences, Gran Canaria, which remains stagnant in pre-covid figures. Just a couple of data points illustrate the dominance of Tenerife within the region’s leading industry: on one hand, the Island is the destination for up to four out of every travellers who come to the Autonomous Community; on the other hand, in 2023 Tenerife recorded nearly 600,000 more tourists than in 2019, while Gran Canaria received barely 34,000 more than in that last year before the double crisis of covid and inflation. The leadership of Tenerife is becoming increasingly solid.
The analysis of the latest official data leads to the same conclusion whether considering the number of visitors or the volume of business. In terms of tourists, Tenerife welcomed a total of 5.6 million visitors last year. That was exactly 518,861 more than in 2022, when there were still some remnants of the pandemic. These 5.6 million travellers who chose the Teide Island to enjoy a few days of vacation in 2023 also represent 561,374 more than in 2019. In fact, it is a historical record. The previous record was set in 2017, when slightly over 5.1 million tourists landed in Tenerife – figures excluding those under 16 years of age. So, the primary tourism industry in Tenerife not only broke its visitor record last year but shattered it in the light of the renewed boom experienced in the travel business in the Old Continent. What about Gran Canaria? The scenario on the round island is different.
Gran Canaria was the destination for just over 3.7 million tourists in 2023, according to official statistics. The increase compared to 2022 is significant, with 384,339 more on an annual basis, but lower than what Tenerife experienced, gaining 134,522 more travellers than the other capital island. However, the increasing prominence of Tenerife in the regional economy is even more evident when looking back. Because while the Teide island has 561,374 more tourists than in 2019, the Roque Nublo island only has 34,195 more; and because if Tenerife is at historical highs after breaking its 2017 record, Gran Canaria, with those 3.7 million visitors in 2023, is not only below the levels of that outstanding 2017 – when it received 3.9 million visitors – but also below those recorded in 2018, when it exceeded 3.8 million.
Gain and Loss of Importance
It is not surprising that while the western island gains importance among tourists’ preferences, the eastern one loses it. Gran Canaria was the destination for 28% of all travellers who came to the Autonomous Community in 2019. Last year it dropped to 26.5%, meaning the Roque Nublo island has left behind the covid crisis after losing one and a half percentage points of the total tourists. In contrast, Tenerife went from capturing 38% of the total travellers before the pandemic – already ten points ahead of Gran Canaria – to capturing almost 40% – 39.7%. The gap in favour of the Teide island now exceeds 13 percentage points. In short, Tenerife is the choice of 40 out of every hundred tourists; while the other capital island is that of 27 out of every hundred.
Regarding the other islands, except for La Gomera and El Hierro, which due to their small internal market do not show significant figures, Lanzarote remains in third place on the podium with 2.6 million tourists in 2023. It is followed by its neighbour Fuerteventura, with almost two million; and La Palma closes the ranking with just under 134,000.
The Business
The regional map drawn by tourist figures is the same if revenue is the reference point, reaching historical highs – indeed – on all islands, although due to inflation. In any case, the effect is the same for all, making the comparison equally accurate.
Out of the 19,565.3 million euros that the Canary Islands’ tourism sector billed in the last fiscal year, 7,593.2 million were generated in Tenerife, representing 39% of the total. The Island thus claims 1.8 more points of the tourism industry revenue pie than in 2019. Conversely, the 5,459.1 million euros generated last year in Gran Canaria account for 27.9% of the total revenue, when this island represented 29% in 2019. It has lost 1.1 points along the way, solidifying Tenerife’s leadership also in business terms.
In the other islands, tourists spent 3,508.4 million euros in Lanzarote; another 2,762.1 million in Fuerteventura; and 166.2 million in La Palma, which has lost weight since the eruption of the Tajogaite volcano in 2021.
Leading Destination also in Europe
Tenerife’s leadership in the tourism sector is also evident in the usual rankings compiled by specialized websites, such as the popular Tripadvisor. The latest classification published by the owl company is that of the most popular destinations in Europe, specifically the top 25. In this ranking, the Teide island is the only one out of the eight in the Archipelago. Tenerife ranks eleventh in a list topped by London, Rome, and Paris, and with only two other Spanish destinations: Barcelona, in sixth place, and Madrid, just behind the Catalan capital in seventh place. The Island is ahead of the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh, which thus occupies the twelfth position, and also surpasses destinations with well-known names such as Oporto, Santorini, Prague, Athens, Dublin, Malta, or neighbouring Madeira. In fact, ahead of Tenerife, there are only ten touristic hubs, the aforementioned London, Rome, Paris, Barcelona and Madrid, as well as Crete, Istanbul, Lisbon, Amsterdam, and Florence. | M.Á.M.
