The gradual increase in the arrival of tourists in the Canary Islands has sparked debate, and a detailed analysis of the situation reveals that the pressure is not evenly distributed across the region. It is in the most eastern islands, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, where the ratio between visitors and local population comes closest to parity. One out of every three people waking up there each morning is a patron of the lodging business in one of its many forms.
In figures, the island of Fuerteventura has a daily average of 58,710 visitors (equivalent tourist population), according to the document Tourist Pressure on Population and Territory in the Canary Islands prepared by the Research Department of the public company Promotur. The Continuous Population Statistics (ECP) estimate the resident population in Fuerteventura at 126,864. In other words, there is one tourist for every 2.16 residents.
Only in Tenerife was the percentage of visitors to the total inhabitants a record high last year
[–>
The same calculation using Lanzarote as a reference point (74,601 daily tourists and 163,543 inhabitants), the scenario remains practically the same, with 2.19 residents per traveller. The exercise highlights the heterogeneity in the distribution of pressure. The burden on these two mentioned islands is over three times higher than that seen in Gran Canaria (7.4 residents per customer) and almost triples that of Tenerife (5.8).
In other words, 32.1% of the population waking up in Fuerteventura each day is not residing on the island; 31.9% in Lanzarote; 14.9% in Tenerife, and 12% in Gran Canaria. The Archipelago’s average? 16%. And is this the highest percentage of tourists reached to date at this destination? It is indeed the case for the entire autonomous community, although it is not the first time that tourist presence has reached 16% of the total. Before last year – a record year with 16.2 million visitors – this figure had already been reached in 2017, a turning point.
The Road to 2017
[–>
The evolution of the business volume in the Canary Islands’ lodging sector has shown an upward trend since 2011, a year in which the Arab Spring led to a sudden and unexpected growth in demand. This occurred when financial instability resulting from the 2008 crisis was at its peak, with frugal countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, or Finland putting pressure on southern countries – Spain, Portugal, Italy, and particularly Greece – to tighten their belts.
Security issues in competing destinations such as Egypt, Tunisia, or Turkey led to a golden age for lodging companies operating in the islands, up until 2017. During that year, almost 16 million tourists were reached. From that point onwards, connectivity began to return to more realistic levels. After that turning point, hotel, non-hotel, and holiday rental revenues decreased, but remained at high levels.
What happened since then to allow last year to finally reach and surpass 16 million visitors? Two factors explain the circumstance. Firstly, the resurgence after the pandemic. The zero tourism period was utilised by the then Tourism Councillor of the Government of the Canary Islands, Yaiza Castilla, to showcase the destination’s ability to provide guarantees in the face of significant eventualities.
The result was an increase in demand following the gradual relaxation of health measures. Similarly, the vacation rental sector also saw an increase in activity, which is the second factor that led to last year’s record number of arrivals. Demand was rising, but so was the necessary supply to meet it.
The Peaks
[–>
However, the Promotur report indicates that this was not the case for all the islands. The 16% of tourists reached in the autonomous community as a whole in 2023 is a maximum – repeated in 2017 – but Gran Canaria’s 12% falls below the 12.4% recorded in 2018. The staggering 32.1% of Fuerteventura and 31.9% of Lanzarote are not records; the former reached 34.8% in 2016, and the latter peaked at 32.3% in 2017.
[–>
The paradox is that the two most eastern islands received fewer tourists in those years when the concentration of lodging activity was higher. The explanation lies in the continuous increase in the resident population, which also puts pressure on the land and services but dilutes the tourism effect. Only Tenerife (14.9%) did reach a record high last year.
Subscribe to continue reading