Gran Canaria gains 100.000 German tourists in one year

 

This Tuesday, February 27, Gran Canaria Tourism held a technical presentation, held in Infecar and aimed at professionals in the sector, in advance of the island's participation in the ITB fair in Berlin, which takes place next week: between on March 5 and 7. 

 

Fernando Arias Texeira, promoter of the Tourism Business of Gran Canaria Tourism for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and Noelia Medina Ojeda, responsible for Tourism Promotion of Gran Canaria in Germany, offered the keys to a 2023 year marked by a change in trend in this client and due to the recovery in the volume of German visitors, despite the fact that this country has lost 15% of the 2019 traveling population and is no longer one of the two main clients of Gran Canaria. Pablo Llinares, managing director of Gran Canaria Tourism, and Pino León, head of the Tourism Promotion section of the Cabildo department, also participated. 

 

 

Gran Canaria was visited by 819.660 German tourist clients during the financial year 2023. This figure represents a significant increase compared to the 720.959 tourists in 2022 and implies that, with a total expenditure of 806,6 million euros in 2023, this market recovers sensations in a notable way after the call to contain spending made by the German Government in recent years as a consequence of the pandemic and the economic and energy consequences derived from the conflict in Ukraine. Gran Canaria signed, in this way, the best final balance of this market in terms of the volume of visitors since 2019, when 874.742 Germans arrived on the Island. The island of Gran Canaria leads this market at a regional level, since it is the one with the largest presence of Bavarian visitors recorded in the Archipelago, out of a total of 2.5 million German tourists in the Canary Islands.

 

Germans are also among the clients who stay on the island the longest, having an average stay of 11,6 days, almost two weeks, when the average for Gran Canaria, the largest in the Archipelago, is just over 10 days. Consequently, the German market represents 21,19% of the total turnover of the island tourism sector. In 2019 it amounted to 21,89% of the total. Meanwhile, the average expenditure per tourist is 1.638,59 euros, 31,84% more than in 2019 and 14,82% more than in 2022. Expenditure on accommodation alone is currently 777,28 euros, for the German client, with an increase of 33,95% compared to 2019 and 20,64% in the interannual comparison, as shown in ISTAC statistics.   

 

Pablo Llinares, managing director of Gran Canaria Tourism, stated that the figures and current trend of the destination globally, when the German market has surpassed the income level of 2019 and we receive a total of 4,3 million clients in 2023 , allow us to “leave behind the recovery process of recent years and this means that we can now focus on working on the type of client with the intention that the economy generated by the sector is greater, is better distributed throughout the island. “Increasing customer spending and billing are priorities in our strategic plan.” In addition, he explained the keys to the market diversification process of Gran Canaria. “We have managed to exceed the pre-covid figure without the two priority markets,” he assessed before pointing out that: “diversification has allowed us to reduce the great dependence that we historically had on German and Nordic tourists.”

 

“Gran Canaria is a traditionally German destination, where tourists from this country show great loyalty,” said Fernando Arias, who has been working in Germany for two decades and recalled a client with more than 50 visits to the Island. He pointed out that the relevance in the 2023 tourism data lies in the fact that “they occur when Germany is not in a good economic moment and the number of vacation travelers has decreased by 15% compared to 2019. However, for the German, Traveling is a vital necessity and is taken away from other expenses to be able to do so. Furthermore, Gran Canaria is a preferred destination, only surpassed by Turkey for migratory links, and, honestly, the island destination is in a good line. It is one of your first options,” added the expert. 

 

“The truth is that at the beginning of 2023 the German economy was not looking good. But, towards the end of the year, there was already a recovery in the capacity of the airlines with Gran Canaria and we have immediately seen how this market has turned to us. We have gained 100.000 clients in one year, figures that must be valued. The 2023 statistics place us at the top of the history of this market. Almost 900.000 clients for a complicated market, in which there are less than 15% of travelers, in general, shows that we are quite well,” Arias assessed. 

 

Both Fernando Arias and Noelia Medina agreed that the German market shows signs of recovery despite the difficulties and threats suffered by the Bavarian economy, after several years of containment in spending and a drop in reserves. The threat of a cold winter due to energy and financial problems derived from the proximity of the war conflict and the inflation process that affects Europe, made the Bavarian client for the first time give up the place of honor as the first tourist market in Great Britain. Canary. 

 

Germany is at a turning point. The 'European locomotive' has an inflation rate of 3,1% in the current year and is expected to drop to 2,2 in 2025, with GDP growth of 1,2%. In previous years, GDP had fallen for the first time in Germany since reunification. Instability is perceived both politically, with enormous difficulties in approving budgets, and economically and socially, with the proliferation of large strikes. This is reflected in the tourism sector, according to Gran Canaria tourism experts. They also highlighted the unrest in immigration policy, something that has favored the rise of the extreme right. 

 

The specialists pointed out that the contracting of the tourist package is recovering and the interest in sustainability continues to predominate, in a client who has a high awareness regarding the impact of their vacation on the environment, with a consideration that is especially notable before starting the trip, that is, during planning and contracting. The survey indicates that 11% of these clients consider it important and look for quality seals in terms of sustainability. In addition, 74% point out that heat waves influence their travel plans and 30% admit that they will look for other colder places. 

 

Online sales grew by 20%, although offline sales are also recovering after very negative years due to the pandemic, in which 3.000 travel agencies were forced to close. Tour packages are on the rise in the German market. They account for 35% of the total sales of tour operators. Spain accounts for 50% of reservations on digital channels. 

In 2024, there is also a recovery in advance reservations, since with the increase in flight prices, savings are sought by booking 9 or 9 months in advance. 

 

Gran Canaria Tourism experts assured that they expect a year with a similar trend to 2023, with greater turnover with fewer clients than in the past. A rising summer is expected in 2024, despite the fact that seasonality is maintained with clear preferences towards the Canary Islands winter, since competition in summer is greater. 

 

Noelia Medina finally defined the profile of the German client, with a clear rejuvenation compared to what arrived a few years ago. Before, 50% were over 60 and they saw us as a destination for seniors, now it is only 29%. We have managed to change our image and achieved a generational change. What all destinations want, since it ensures future customers.” Medina assured that these new, younger clients land on the island due to the demand for sports possibilities in natural environments and active tourism. 60% come as a couple and the majority stay in four-star hotels. But 25% only buy the accommodation and breakfast, since they prefer to get to know the island, an objective that has been worked on for many years and allows for the redistribution of the economy generated by the sector.