“We are facing one of the best years for the tourism sector of Gran Canaria,” says the Minister of Tourism of Gran Canaria, Carlos Álamo, who highlighted a positive inertia in the numbers of Social Security affiliations.
The tourism sector of Gran Canaria is in a historic year, both in volume of clients and in billing and employment. In the accumulated year, the Gran Canaria airport has received, until November, 12,6 million passengers, 280.000 more travelers compared to what was registered in the same period of 2018, a record year to date at the Gran Canaria aerodrome. Gando. Barring any surprises, the annual figure throughout the month of December will be above the 13,57 million passengers in 2018.
Gran Canaria received 364.018 international passengers during the month of November, which represents an increase of 5,5% compared to the previous year and places last November as the second best in terms of passenger volume in the historical records of the Island, only surpassed by the record of 2017 and that occurred as a derivative effect of the Arab Spring.
On the other hand, the Istac Social Security affiliation figures, the volume of people employed in activities, last November, related to Tourism in Gran Canaria reached 367.089 people, which implies an increase of 13,59 % compared to the same period in 2020. The number of economic activities in the sector rises to 72.877 when in November 2020 this statistic was 57.790; that is, 24% less. The sector has not reached the volume of contracts prior to the pandemic since in 2018 the island had 77.813 contracts and in 2019 there were 78.655.
“We are facing one of the best years for the tourism sector of Gran Canaria. Definitely. This is something we are pleased about after the difficulties experienced in recent years. But we have opted for the improvement of the destination and its differential products and the diversification of markets, to once again be a leading destination in Europe and especially to increase the sector's turnover based on an improved product that implies greater spending per customer per day. . This is our objective and in the absence of the definitive closing of the year, the turnover indicates that it will be around 30% higher than that of 2019,” analyzed the Councilor for Tourism of the Cabildo, Carlos Álamo.
The counselor explained that in order to analyze the value of the arrival data, one must “be aware that air traffic or air capacity in the world is now reaching levels similar to those of 2019, with international traffic being the one that takes the longest to arrive.” recuperate. Gran Canaria has had superior connectivity since 2020, so it will have added merit if we maintain or exceed the 2019 figures.”
This indicated that the average expenditure per tourist in 2019 was 1.173,57 euros and has currently risen to 1.239,57, reaching 1.515,95 euros at the end of the third quarter of the year. The expense per day is now 173 euros on average.
Accommodation data also improves in the year-on-year comparison. The occupancy rate per room in November was 87% of the total, with 383.244 travelers staying with an average stay of 7,5 days. The number of overnight stays grew by 11% compared to November 2022, as well as the number of travelers staying (11%). Places that were not available last year have also been recovered, going from 98.996 beds to 108.569.
Finally, the counselor reported that the occupancy forecasts for Christmas and for the end of the year “are impressive, bordering on full and with an increase compared to last year of 7,5%, and they continue to be very good throughout. "January and although there is still some uncertainty with February, but it is normal since this is the usual dynamic of recent years with many last minute reservations and less advance notice."
