Tourism: Present and future, with its own name

 

Dear neighbors: 

 

You are going to allow me a confidence: I remember perfectly that Sunday of enormous sadness and uncertainty. I will never forget March 15, 2020, with an image that, above the rest, was burned into my memory. 

 

That morning, like many citizens of Gran Canaria, I opened the window of my house and could see and hear a huge military vehicle passing by and, with a sound system, asking not to leave the house. The message was necessary, but it kept reminding me of a war scene, which in my years of life I never thought I would see. 

 

That Sunday was the first day of mandatory confinement. An empty day in which I later had to tour our South, from hotel to hotel, to accompany the express repatriation of our clientele. 

 

It was a Sunday of maximum anguish in which fiction seemed to prevail over reality; a day in which our municipality was deserted, touched, and its beaches, walks and leisure areas, always alive, dynamic and bustling, became the setting for an apocalyptic movie, without a future, with a checkmate to the essential pillar of our economy and the certainty of irreparable damage to a large majority of families. 

 

The appearance of the health pandemic changed everything. It was a hard blow and also one of responsibility in the face of the challenge we faced. We put aside our personal projects, our political strategies, personal interests and many of our priorities to focus on what is most important: The security and future of our people in a legislature in which we have managed, in my opinion, to offer answers, solutions and maximum dedication to the commitments and responsibilities received in a scenario of international crisis. 

 

 

 

 

 

A common purpose and more budget

 

So, we all unite under the same flag. This is my second great memory and a lesson that I draw, because it led to the confirmation of everything we can do when we walk together and united: Neighbors, businessmen, public services, doctors and nurses... Before a common purpose. 

 

Our first message was that of unity and I consider it fundamental in everything positive that came afterwards, in the citizen response and in a subsequent recovery that has surprised the world with its speed and that once again places us among the most outstanding tourist destinations and defendants from the continent. 

 

The stoppage of the pandemic and the absence of clients offered the opportunity for the sector to undertake improvements in its tourism infrastructure, with a contribution and involvement from the private sector that has significantly improved our destination, while the Cabildo y Turismo de Gran Canaria we multiplied the annual allocations allocated for this purpose, in such a way that the budget of this administration was doubled. It was very important to remain a safe destination, but also provide answers in the form of employment and payrolls to many people who urgently needed it. 

 

Firm steps towards tourism excellence

 

The objective of our Strategic Plan has not only been to recover the tourism industry, in the face of the different challenges of Covid, but we have also laid the foundations of the sector for the coming years. We have taken firm steps in search of tourist excellence on the Island, adding value to certain products and tools of the sector, the so-called 'extras' of Gran Canaria, which must complement and enrich the prominence that the sun and beach product plays as the main product. claim.

 

We have invested more than 26 million euros in rehabilitation and improvements of public spaces, more than the last 5 legislatures combined. We are more competitive, a better destination, if the 3 municipalities contribute the much and good that they have. We are aware of this and, during the term that is ending, we have valued it and made visible the potential of Gran Canaria... But it is no less true that San Bartolomé de Tirajana is the tourist city of the destination and that is why we have dedicated ourselves to improving it as a whole. 

 

Improvements in San Bartolome de Tirajana

 

 

 

 

 

In 2020, Gran Canaria Tourism invested just over 10 million euros in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana to undertake actions, such as the landscaping of the slope of the old Playa del Inglés slide; the landscape conditioning of the Palmeral Oasis of Maspalomas; the transformation of the Maspalomas Municipal Market; a program of paving, lighting, and improving accessibility of tourist areas; the air conditioning of the Ernesto Hernández Pool in San Fernando; the conditioning of the Playa del Águila parking lot; the rehabilitation of Paseo Meloneras with public lighting; coastal improvements and adaptation to the health crisis; the Accessibility Plan for the San Bartolomé de Tirajana coastline; We acquired new material for Christmas lighting and assumed the current expenses of the Maspalomas-Gran Canaria Renovation Consortium, which was a tool that was unused. 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2021, we added a budget to the Consortium's current spending to execute rehabilitation and improvement projects at the destination. And in 2022, we granted a new allocation for the improvement of road signage in the tourist area of ​​Playa del Inglés, along with the restoration of the landscaping of Paseo Costa Canaria. 

 

 

 

 

 

2022, a positive year

 

All in all, the tourism sector of Gran Canaria closed the 2022 financial year positively, with income higher than that of 2019, the pre-covid reference year. According to the Survey on Tourist Expenditure, prepared quarterly by the Canarian Institute of Statistics (ISTAC), tourist spending grew on the Island by 4,6% despite having fewer tourists compared to the reference prior to the appearance of the health pandemic and the international crisis with a complete stoppage of the industry. 

 

This increase in revenue and billing was achieved thanks to the increase in spending per customer per day, which was +15,5% in the first case and +12,6% in the daily spending per customer category. 

 

The tourism sector of Gran Canaria invoiced a total value of almost 4,6 million euros during 2022, exceeding the 4,3 million euros of 2019, one of the best years in the Island's historical series. 

 

The average expenditure per tourist was 1.348,93 euros per stay and 159,10 euros per day. The average expenditure in the pre-covid reference was 1.167,63 euros and 141,28 per day of stay. It should be noted that the value of the average expenditure (1.348.93 euros) is the highest among the tourist destinations in the Canary Islands. 

 

The occupancy levels also stand out, with an increase of 1,88% compared to the 2019 reference. For all this, we can say that, together, we have managed to recover the base that sustains the island economy and surpassed with flying colors the longest period. complex in the history of this sector. 

  

Market diversification

 

On the other hand, 2022 was the year of the consecration of a commitment made by Tourism of Gran Canaria, the Cabildo of Gran Canaria and with the support of the private sector, for the improvement of the destination and its tourist offer, through a process of market diversification that resulted in a notable increase in the weight of other clients on the continent, such as French, Belgian, Dutch and national. 

 

Also, there was a process of improving the level of billing that exceeded the income of 2019, which demonstrated that with fewer tourists (-9%) the billing and income of the island can be increased. In this process, the enhancement of products linked to tourism, such as gastronomic and artisanal products, has been important, so our visitors are willing to pay more for an improved product that is among the most attractive in Spain. and Europe and, with this, the positive effect of Tourism on the primary sector of the Island was evident.

 

Achievements and improvements in 2023

 

In the current fiscal year of 2023, we have already made investments worth 3 million euros, including the remodeling of the Paseo Marítimo Costa Canaria; the rehabilitation of the Paseo and improvement of access and equipment of Santa Águeda Beach. It also includes the remodeling of the surroundings of the Maspalomas Lighthouse and the access to it. 

 

On the other hand, we have carried out the renovation of an emblematic and highly useful tourist space, such as the CIT of CC Yumbo, which was not up to par and we have renovated it with virtual reality technology among other aspects of digitalization. Likewise, we make a significant effort to provide this municipality with Attention and Information Offices for tourist clients. 

 

 

Finally, we have supported international and festive events, such as the San Bartolomé Carnivals or the LGTBIQ+ Pride Festivals that so many people gather in our municipality and, of course, sporting events of a marked promotional nature such as the 'Gran Canaria Maspalomas'. Marathon' or 'La Liga Promise', which is the event that has the most impact and media return of all those held in the Canary Islands. 

 

Priorities, facts and palpable realities

 

It is true that there is still a lot to do and I am not hiding in this sense. Despite the work carried out, we have not been able to reach an agreement with the many owners who must undertake, with our help, the reconversion of commercial spaces that have become obsolete and offer a negative image. I am not hiding in this sense either. We have prepared our own report and we will lead this rehabilitation process as a priority in the next mandate.

 

A little more than three years after that Sunday of confinement, as you well know, this May 28 there are municipal elections in San Bartolomé de Tirajana, as well as for the Cabildo of Gran Canaria and the Government of the Canary Islands.

 

That is why I take the liberty of addressing, by this means, directly to the neighbor of San Bartolomé de Tirajana to convey to them the need that we feel among the socialists of San Bartolomé de Tirajana to give continuity to a project like ours that , in the face of the greatest threat, has been confirmed in a guarantee, with proven and palpable facts, that in the most complex episode of our recent history, attention, care and response to citizens have been the absolute priority of all our performance. 

 

Maspalomas, leading destination in Europe

 

Today we can say that the industry is better than four years ago and that our tourist area has established the foundations to become a leading destination in Europe over the next decade. 

 

We have a social project that aims to respond to citizen needs and the future challenges that the municipality faces. 

 

I consider that what was done in this last legislature is the best endorsement that can be presented to our citizens who, on this occasion and in the face of siren songs, can base their arguments with proven facts, with actions and initiatives that are now presented as a guarantee against to uncertainty. 

 

Proven facts such as that today we have one of the lowest unemployment figures in recent decades in our municipality, such as the aid and measures applied, which always sought not to leave anyone behind. Faced with one of the most complex and intricate episodes of the century, it was decided to give an opposite response in values ​​to how people acted in past economic crises managed by and with right-wing policies. 

 

From the greatest possible humility, I think I can say, loudly, that despite the difficulties and in the exercise of responsibilities at the head of Tourism of Gran Canaria, I have defended unquestionable principles for the good of the sector, including that of all workers. that make it up, emphasizing that the objective of tourist quality involves a sustainable model, with a higher level of income and turnover thanks to diversification and an emphasis on the local product and kilometer Zero that favors a more balanced distribution of the sector income. 

 

 

 

 

 

The defense of the territory must be done decisively, without ambiguity. It is the most important heritage and the legacy that we must defend so that future generations can have the same opportunities as us. 

 

In this summary of the legislature, with the imminent appointment of the polls, I echo some words from Ángel Víctor Torres with which I feel deeply identified: “If we have achieved all this in the face of so many difficulties, imagine what we could do from now on” . 

 

Our objective is none other than to improve people's lives and this is also the main mission of our tourism industry, whose final objective must be to improve the lives of Gran Canarian people.

 

With these words and with the greatest possible humility, I ask you to go to the polls this May 28 and exercise your right to vote freely and to trust in a government strong in values, with experience and capacity to continue changing this, our society and who has his own name: Ángel Víctor Torres, Sebastián Franquis, Augusto Hidalgo and our mayor, Conchi Narváez. 

 

 

            Best regards and good luck.