The gradual growth in tourist arrivals in the Canary Islands has sparked discussions, and a detailed analysis reveals that the pressure is not evenly distributed across the entire autonomous community. It is in the easternmost islands, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, where the ratio of visitors to local population is closest to parity. One out of every three individuals who wake up on these islands every morning is a guest of the hospitality business in one of its many forms.
By the numbers, the territory of Fuerteventura sees an average of 58,710 daily visitors (equivalent to the tourist population), according to the document Tourist Pressure on Population and Territory in Canarias prepared by the Research Department of the public company Promotur. The Continuous Population Statistics (ECP) estimate the resident population in Fuerteventura to be 126,864. In other words, there is one tourist for every 2.16 residents.
Only in Tenerife was the percentage of visitors compared to the total inhabitants of last year a record
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Taking the same approach with Lanzarote (74,601 daily tourists and 163,543 inhabitants), things remain practically the same, with 2.19 residents per traveler. This analysis highlights the heterogeneity in the distribution of pressure. The burden that the two mentioned islands carry is multiplied by more than three compared to what is seen in Gran Canaria (7.4 residents per guest) and nearly triple that exhibited by Tenerife (5.8).
In other words, 32.1% of the population who wake up in Fuerteventura every day do not have their residence on the island; 31.9% in Lanzarote; 14.9% in Tenerife, and 12% in Gran Canaria. The Archipelago’s average? 16%. Is it the highest percentage of tourists reached to date at the destination? In the case of the entire autonomous community, it is, although it is not the first time that the presence of tourists has reached 16% of the total. Before last year – a record of arrivals with 16.2 million visitors – this figure had already been reached in the year 2017, marking a turning point.
On the Path to 2017
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The evolution of the business volume in the Canary Islands’ hotel sector showed an upward trend since 2011, the year when the Arab Spring led to a sudden and unexpected demand increase. This occurred while the financial distress resulting from the 2008 crisis was still at its peak, with frugal countries – such as Germany, the Netherlands, or Finland – pushing the southern countries – Spain, Portugal, Italy, and especially Greece – to tighten their belts.
The security issues in competitive destinations like Egypt, Tunisia, or Turkey paved the way for a golden era for hospitality companies operating in the Islands until 2017. In that year, almost 16 million tourists were reached. After that, connectivity began to retreat to more logical levels. Following that turning point, hotel, non-hotel, and holiday billing decreased, but remained in the upper range.
The increase in the resident population helps to dilute the concentration of the lodging activity
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What happened from that moment that allowed last year, this time indeed, to reach and exceed 16 million visitors? Two factors explain the circumstance. First, the resurgence after the pandemic. The tourism shutdown was leveraged by the then Minister of Tourism of the Government of the Canary Islands, Yaiza Castilla, to showcase the destination’s ability to provide guarantees in the face of large-scale eventualities.
The result was an increase in demand following the gradual withdrawal of health measures. Concurrently, the holiday rental segment also saw an increase in activity, and that is the second of the factors that determined last year’s record arrivals. Demand was on the rise, but so was the necessary supply to meet it.
The Peaks
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The Promotur report indicates, however, that this has not been the case for all islands. The 16% of tourists reached in the entire autonomous community in 2023 is indeed a record – repeated in 2017 – but Gran Canaria’s 12% falls below the 12.4% noted in the year 2018. Neither the staggering 32.1% of Fuerteventura nor the 31.9% of Lanzarote are records; the former reached 34.8% in 2016, and the latter to 32.3% in 2017.
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The paradox is that the two easternmost islands received fewer tourists in those years when the concentration of lodging activity was higher. The explanation lies in the continued increase in the resident population, which also exerts pressure on the territory and services but dilutes the impact of tourism. Only Tenerife (14.9%) did reach a record last year.
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