Fitur 2024: Gran Canaria to a record summer

 

The Madrid International Fair, Fitur 2024, opened this Wednesday, January 24, with Antonio Morales, president of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, and Carlos Álamo, Minister of Island Tourism, leading the island delegation. Both highlighted the good moment that the destination is going through with the aim of building national customer loyalty and consolidating the increase in spending and turnover in the sector. Morales and Álamo also conveyed the good feelings, their own and shared with the Gran Canaria Tourism technical team, present at the international fair in Madrid with a meeting agenda that includes 63 appointments, with special attention to travel agencies, tour operators and airlines. Connectivity presents an increase of 17% for the fiscal year 2024 and, in addition, they announced a specific promotional campaign aimed at the national customer with the intention of increasing the presence of this visitor during the summer season, since according to what they stated “in winter We practically have no capacity and free places”

 

The president of Gran Canaria highlighted the good moment that the island tourism sector is experiencing, with very positive records in the volume of client arrivals, with a forecast of close to 4,5 million clients in the last year, which represents the second best year since there are records and with a billing record, absolute priority of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria. Morales stated that “after years complicated by the zero of the pandemic, the sector is experiencing one of its best moments and everything indicates that 2023 will be the best year in tourist arrivals since 2017. But we cannot measure our success only based on to the volume of clients and indefinite growth in this parameter. That is why we are clearly betting on billing and managing to increase customer spending, in addition to greater loyalty and a break in seasonality. This is what is truly important. "That those who visit us spend more, spend more time on the Island, visit the entire island, both coastal and inland, and generate resources throughout the territory." 

 

 

 

 

On the first day of Fitur 2024, both the island president and the responsible advisor announced a specific promotional campaign for Gran Canaria Tourism aimed at clients from the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands with the intention of motivating a greater presence of national visitors in the period. summer. Carlos Álamo explained that: “we are finalizing a powerful campaign because we have detected that summer is the time of the season in which we have the capacity to welcome this client. This is an important client, with very good spending and interested in getting to know our gastronomy, our complementary offer and has a high level of spending and this last year has increased per client and day by 3,5%."

 

Álamo explained that the summer season is the main one for the national customer, as it is the time when they make the most trips. The Minister of Tourism pointed out that, "although in 2021 we had a significant rebound, we have detected that in the last two summers there was very important competition within the peninsular territory and at a lower cost to save on the plane ticket, so we have a margin of growth at this time of the year and we do not have much margin for the rest of the year. Therefore, we are going to promote, with a specific campaign, the summer period in conjunction with the planned 17% increase in connectivity. The interest exists, despite the difficulties and having a competition that eludes air travel, and we consider that we have possibilities for growth despite the difficulties. The national sector conveys optimism to us regarding this initiative, we are a consolidated and loved destination for the national client and we are clearly committed to the summer of 2024.” 

 

 

 

 

Gran Canaria Tourism took advantage of the Madrid event to highlight some of its main tourist potential, such as the gastronomic offer, the possibilities it presents for clients interested in sports and active tourism, and a complementary offer to the star products of Sun and beach. The commitment to summer comes as a result of the success of the diversification process of Gran Canaria's clientele, which has reduced dependence on markets that have historically been the most important, such as Germany and England. “Two years ago these two markets represented 50% of the total clients on the Island and now it is 43%, which has added resilience to possible problems. The British market is booming and it also chooses summer, so we are going to make an important bet so that the next summer period is the most important in recent years, with greater turnover,” explained Carlos Álamo.

 

Carlos Álamo highlighted, finally, a historic connectivity with 220 direct flights to or from 24 airports in Spain and that incorporates two initial novelties for this season: such as the flight to Bilbao that Volotea will carry out and the incorporation of Madrid to the company's flight program Binter Canarias.