SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 12th May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Santiago Sesé, the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, has emphasised the robust state of the tourism sector in the Canary Islands at present and its significant impact on the job market. However, he also highlighted the necessity of creating new job roles tailored to market needs as the primary challenge for the future.
This assessment is based on data from the Survey of Tourist Movements on Borders conducted by the INE, which indicates that the number of foreign tourists increased to 4,272,290 in the first quarter of the year, representing a 14.3% rise compared to the same period the previous year. Nationally, there was a growth of 17.7%.
The increase in the tourist influx has led to a surge in total tourist expenditure, reaching €6,509 million in the first quarter, a 19.9% increase from the previous year. This record figure not only benefits the tourists’ home countries but also generates more wealth in the Canary Islands through the entire range of goods and services associated with tourism. The average daily spending per tourist grew by 4.7% in this period, reaching €172 per person per day in March.
The Chamber’s president highlighted that these figures once again confirm the fundamental role of the sector in the Islands’ economy. “Undoubtedly, this is a significant fact that underlines the need to continue progressing and enhancing to maintain a high-quality, competitive, and sustainable destination. Once again, tourism is setting the path for our economic growth and its ability to influence other subsectors,” he stated.
This was further evidenced by companies closely linked to the industry, such as transportation and hospitality, which maintained a leading position in the most recent business confidence survey with 59% expressing optimism about their first-quarter performance, compared to only 3% being pessimistic.
In the hospitality sector, which includes accommodation and restaurants, the number of Social Security affiliates increased by an average of 6.2% in the first quarter compared to the previous year. By March 31, there were 166,380 members, marking an addition of 10,860 compared to 2023 (7%). Conversely, registered unemployment in the hospitality industry saw an average decrease of 10.2% from the previous year’s same period, with 23,972 unemployed individuals at the quarter’s end, which is 3,493 fewer than the previous year (-12.7%).
Addressing this, Santiago Sesé pointed out that the “major challenge” for entrepreneurs currently lies in the necessity for “professional, trained, and skilled profiles in a sector that has thoroughly proven itself to be the driving force of our economy.” “The Chamber is committed to enhancing this aspect because only with trained employees can we maintain long-term competitiveness,” he added.
LOWER GROWTH PREDICTIONS
The outlook for the second quarter remains positive, albeit with more moderate activity forecasts. 39% of companies anticipate favourable results, 46% foresee stability, and 15% expect a decline.
According to the INE, the number of visitors staying in Canarian hotels rose by 9.2% in the first quarter compared to the previous year. This increase was predominantly driven by international visitors (10.7%), while domestic visitors only increased by 1.6%.
The average length of stay in the quarter was 0.6% lower than in the first quarter of 2023, with overnight stays increasing by 8.5%. The occupancy rate rose by 9.3 points to reach 76.6% in March, surpassing the national average occupancy rate (55.1%).
The surge in activity necessitated an increase in employment, as evidenced by the staff employed in hotel establishments reported by the INE in its Occupation Survey in Tourist Accommodations, which saw a year-on-year increase of 10.7% on average in the first quarter.
