SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, March 13 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Minister of Tourism, Yaiza Castilla, and the Director of Marketing Projects, Alberto Ávila, have presented this Monday the action plan aimed at promoting the Easter and summer holidays of Canarian residents on the islands and which on this occasion amounts to to 2.1 million euros.
“Domestic tourism has a significant impact on the economy of the Canary Islands, representing a significant volume of business for the tourism sector,” explained Castilla. In 2022, the total expenditure on travel by Canarian residents within the Archipelago amounted to 5% of the total invoiced by the sector, only below the British, German and peninsular. In fact, it exceeded the turnover of the French and Portuguese markets together by 30%.
The counselor also highlighted that, although the internal Canarian tourist enjoys traveling at any time of the year, their trips are concentrated in the warmer months, complementing the decrease in demand from some international markets and resulting in a stable tourist demand.
“Furthermore, residents are the ones who best know the destination and what it offers. In fact, 98% do not contract a tourist package and seek more authentic and local experiences, which facilitates a greater and better redistribution of their spending,” added the counselor. .
Domestic tourism also contributes to the diversification of the economic engine of the Canary Islands, especially in the traditionally less touristy islands. In 2022, more than 61% of the tourists staying on El Hierro were from the Canary Islands, 41% on La Gomera and 23% on La Palma. “On average, they represent 10% of all those staying at the destination, so we are talking about a very important percentage of domestic tourism for an international tourist power like the Canary Islands,” explained the counselor.
To promote this domestic tourism, the shipping companies will reinforce the maritime connections between the islands in order to respond to the demand of travelers with 910,000 seats for Easter. Naviera Armas will have 500,000 seats and Fred. Olsen Express will reach 410,000 seats.
Likewise, inter-island air capacity at Easter will be very positive, as it will reach 177,824 seats, 9.1% more than in the same period of 2022. In addition, for the summer season there will be 3,810,988 seats between islands, that is, 6.1% more than in the summer of last year.
AN “UNCONDITIONAL” VISITOR
As Castilla clarified, “this positive outlook more than justifies our commitment to a segment that improves the resilience of the Canarian tourism model, since it is an unconditional visitor who provides security and reliability to the destination.” The size of the segment is such that last year almost 4 million resident trips took place on the islands and almost 1.3 million stayed in hotels and apartments.
“Historically, we are committed to Canary Islands tourism because it fully responds to most of the strategic objectives of the Canary Islands brand, from reducing the risk of concentration in traditional markets and reducing dependence on the sun and beach category, to the extension of the economic benefits throughout the country and greater direct marketing, which implies the involvement of the whole of society in the benefits of tourism”, the counselor concluded.
For these reasons, last year Turismo de Canarias made an investment of 1.9 million euros for this segment which, taking into account that the tourist turnover of residents amounted to 817 million, meant that for every euro invested, 430 euros were returned to the destination .
By 2023 Turismo de Canarias increases its commitment to this segment, allocating 2.1 million to an action plan focused on the periods in which residents are more willing to travel, Easter and summer, in addition to making a promotional effort with the new edition of the La Palma Tourist Vouchers campaign, to which 2 million euros will be allocated.
‘CANARY PLAN’
As Alberto Ávila explained, “the two campaigns will be executed through a multichannel media strategy, on radio, written and digital press, social networks and television, and with a close and familiar tone.” Under the slogan ‘Planazo canario’, the action will be developed to encourage getaways at Easter, conveying the concept that a multitude of inspiring plans can be carried out that stimulate the consumption of tourist products in the archipelago
“We intend, through a simple and direct proposal, to inspire the enjoyment of tourist activities in the Canary Islands, promoting the discovery of everything that the eight islands offer and thus improving the spending made by residents,” added Ávila. The campaign will generate traffic to the ‘landing page’ www.planazocanario.comwhich will contain the Holaislascanarias web scheduler.
Facing summer, the campaign ‘On your island or on mine’ will be activated, also aimed at this market, with “a call to visit the neighboring islands, putting the prescriber, the canary who knows his land well, in the center stimulus, again in order to improve overall billing through longer stays”, as summarized by the Projects director.
The objective is for the resident to aspire to discover and reunite, either in the unknown secret corners of their own island or by discovering the island of their partner, their family, or their friend. “An objective that we want to achieve through pieces that trigger the decision through a challenge, an illusion, contrasting one island with another, one life with another,” concluded Ávila.
