The island of Tenerife concluded the first quarter of the year with a tourist record of over 1.9 million visitors – 15% more than in the same period of the previous year – and 493,150 occupied, with an unemployment rate that for the first time falls below 15% and 70,000 people since 2008.
The vice president of the Island Council and Tourism Councillor, Lope Afonso, has stated that Tenerife is a “well-shaped island” that promotes economic activity and the creation of employment although he has not hidden that “there are challenges that are not easy” such as the development of strategic sectors, ensuring generational turnover and operations in the primary sector or increasing quality in tourism through proper regulation of holiday rentals.
This is the assessment of the ‘Economic Situation Bulletin’ published this Monday by Afonso together with the Industrial, Commerce, Primary Sector and Animal Welfare Councillor, Manuel Fernández; the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Santiago Sesé, and the General Secretary of the Chamber entity, Lola Pérez.
Lola Pérez has indicated that the start of the year “has been very good” in activity and employment, with the logical moderation of the commercial sector after the end of the Christmas season and a certain “slowdown” in car sales, which are falling again after the increases in 2022 and 2023.
She also mentioned that the industrial sector “continues to grow” on the island, with more than 1,300 companies, construction stabilising with 2,645 companies and over 26,000 jobs, and tourism remaining as the “engine” of the island’s economy. “These are very good ten years, the occupation is spectacular,” she added.
She also highlighted that although business confidence is declining by 1.4%, nearly 85% of companies maintain or improve results for the following quarter.
Sesé has pointed out the “positive figures” in the labour market with 41,000 more workers than a year ago and a decrease in unemployment of over 22,000 people, with an active population increasing by just over 19,000 people.
However, he warned that tourist growth is seeing a “shift” of visitors towards holiday rentals as the hotel subsector only attracts 6% more, hence he has called for regulation and “quality control”, even opening the door to the closure of many of these properties, as unfair competition must be stopped.
The Chamber’s President has also demanded more administrative simplification and better management of Next Generation funds because they are an “opportunity” but the PERTE “are very delayed” and “SMEs are not benefiting”.
Quality criteria in holiday rentals
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In this line, it has been pointed out that entrepreneurs are very “empathetic” with the problems of citizens and have not hidden that holiday rentals lead to increased residential rent or that workers are living “further and further away” from their workplaces causing more mobility problems.
Afonso has stated that the draft law of the Canarian Government already seeks to “introduce quality requirements” and steer the market towards “quality and not quantity” and believes that the intervention of the Ministry of Consumption, even, “is late”, since Canaries already has “mechanisms” to cross-check data with digital platforms and ensure that the offers are legal.
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In his opinion, the “key” lies in “changing the housing law” since many properties are “migrating” from residential to tourist rentals due to the “alarm and fear” that owners have of not recovering the property.
