The Minister of Tourism, Carlos Álamo, leads a delegation of 15 professionals from the Tourism department of Gran Canaria, who are attending the meeting with the British sector, with some 50 professional meetings scheduled, and the UK market at an all-time high in terms of arrival volume and turnover.
Gran Canaria Tourism will be present, with Councillor Carlos Álamo leading a delegation of 15 people, at the World Travel Market which is being held in London from this Tuesday, as a reference event for the British market, with the intention of strengthening connectivity and consolidating the good moment of the UK client, which has positioned itself as the one with the greatest presence and turnover in recent years. The Gran Canaria delegation will attend the event between 5 and 7 November, with around 50 professional meetings on its agenda with agencies, airlines and tour operator companies.
“The destination’s numbers are good, so we can rest assured that the strategy is yielding results,” said the Gran Canaria Tourism Councillor before adding that “currently all markets by nationality are in positive figures in the comparison with 2023 and if nothing changes in the behaviour and forecasts for the end of the year, we estimate ending the year with a figure between 4,5 and 4,7 million customers, which would mean growing between 7 and 9% annually. In terms of turnover, we will experience another record, higher than the 5.459 million euros of last year, which meant a year-on-year increase of 20% and 25% over 2019. This year we can end with similar values.”
Last week, the technicians from the Cabildo's Tourism Department explained the key points of the current British market at an event aimed at professionals in the sector on the island and which took place at the Playa del Inglés Island Tourism Centre. At this event, it was explained that the pandemic has reinforced the interest of the British in travelling, something that is also reflected in the sustainable demand for holiday travel. The number of trips abroad is reaching pre-pandemic levels, despite financial uncertainty, showing strong recovery, both in volume and expenditure. The spending per day and per trip of the British client has risen by more than 20% since 2019 and continues to increase. All this is happening in a scenario of economic and financial instability, however, the English are not willing to give up their week of sun and beach holidays and Gran Canaria is among their preferred destinations.
In this regard, they pointed out that 30,6 million Britons, 56% of British adults, enjoy at least one holiday abroad, with 72% of them between 35-44 years old and 76% belonging to families with children. More than 30% were able to take two or more holiday breaks during the last year. 54% of British adults surveyed said they plan to spend more on their next holiday abroad.
But the economic situation does affect consumer behaviour. Firstly, consumers are looking to get more value for money, opting for all-inclusive holidays by reducing the number of days they spend on vacation (7 instead of 10), or choosing to travel out of season, but they are not willing to lower the quality of their outings. Sun and beach holidays continue to lead, although their share is falling. Meanwhile, city breaks and nature and more active trips are gradually gaining in popularity.
“We have to consolidate this situation, something that has helped us in recent years to offset the occasional drop that occurred in the German and Nordic markets, whose behaviour has proven to be opposite. These markets opted for spending restraint, but the British market did not. It preferred to give up other expenses and maintain its holiday spending. However, the numbers in this market are high in every sense, the highest in history,” argued Álamo.
The British have been the island's main customer since 2022, when the pandemic restrictions ended. Between January and September, 791.616 British customers landed on the island, +15,7% year-on-year. Meanwhile, 472.414 British passengers were counted during the 2023-2024 winter season, this figure being 14% higher than the previous season. Previously, 2023 closed with 947.449 +20% year-on-year and 2024 is expected to reach at least one million.. However, British clients represent 22% of the total number of visitors to Gran Canaria, and they, in turn, represent 17% of the total number of British tourists in the Canary Islands.
However, the most notable thing for the Department of Tourism based on its 2021-2025 strategy is that the average stay is currently 8,8 days, so, although the average number of days that the British, in general, spend travelling is reduced; in the case of Gran Canaria it rises compared to the previous figure, which was 8,23 days. The British market in Gran Canaria invoiced 1.102 million euros during the 2023 financial year, 20% of the total turnover of the sector. Meanwhile, the tourist expenditure of British clients in Gran Canaria was 1.413 euros in 2023, that is, 7,7% higher than the year-on-year comparison.
“Gran Canaria has 9,38% more tourists than last year in the cumulative data up to August and 11% more in the increase in connectivity and, more importantly, we are at a record turnover, with 20% more than in 2022 and 30% more than in 2019. We lead the statistics in spending per tourist and days of stay. We are also the island where tourists repeat the most. The strategy is working and we are doing it without consuming territory, without proposing an unsustainable increase in the volume of tourists and diversifying both the product and the points of interest, in such a way that the whole island, with emphasis on the municipalities at the top and in the interior of the island, can increase their contributions to the tourist turnover options, thereby achieving that the wealth generated by the sector can be distributed in a more balanced way throughout the island,” said Álamo.
