Gran Canaria is presenting itself on the first day of the World Travel Market in London with the aim of consolidating and stabilising the good moment of the British client on the island and highlighted its influence in raising the turnover of the sector, for the first time, above 6 billion euros.
The Minister of Tourism, Carlos Álamo, highlights the importance of the sector in the Canarian economy while prioritising turnover over the volume of visitors. “We want to make the most of the presence of a client like the English one who says he is willing to spend more”
British visitors have been Gran Canaria's top tourist customers since 2022. The island will therefore, for the first time, exceed one million visitors from the United Kingdom by the end of this year. The figure for the volume of arrivals from the United Kingdom, with an average expenditure per client and trip of 1.413 euros, guarantees a record in turnover, which will exceed 6 billion euros for the first time in the general calculation. However, the Councillor for Tourism of Gran Canaria, Carlos Álamo, put the emphasis on the first day of the World Travel Market of 2024, which takes place this week in London, possibly the most important tourism fair on the planet, on the capacity of the sector to generate employment and the resulting increase in employment under the drive of the client with an English accent and his passion for Gran Canaria.
“This is a very important edition for Gran Canaria, because we are presenting ourselves with the best figures of a very important market that is at its historical maximum, which gives us some peace of mind and makes us present ourselves at this fair with the aim of consolidating the upturn of this client, something that has allowed us to stabilise the destination, compared to the occasional fall in other markets, with a growth that we consider sustainable,” said Álamo at a fair in which the Gran Canaria team, with a professional agenda of 54 events, meets face to face with the main agents, businessmen and airlines of the United Kingdom.
“We will certainly end the year with 4,5 million or 4,7 million total tourist clients, higher than in 2023, reaching and exceeding 6 billion euros; very positive data that, if we look deeper into them, we see how it has had an effect on linked employment since we all know the capacity of the tourism sector with 60% of the jobs on the islands,” the councillor advanced, before explaining: “Currently there are 390.000 Gran Canarians employed, which represents an increase of 6,6% compared to 2019. Of these, 181.000 are jobs that correspond to or are occupied by Gran Canarian women. But the most significant thing is that this data represents a specific improvement in female employment, one of the most historically affected, 8% compared to the pandemic and 2% more than in 2023.”
The councillor provided, as an example, the data for September 2024, which shows 226.030 people affiliated to social security in jobs linked to tourism, 57,94% of the total number of affiliates on the Island. In addition, he explained that in September the number of contracts grew by 4,98% and the number of unemployed fell by 5,29%.
“The performance of employment-related securities shows a more than positive evolution if we compare it with 2019, that is, before the appearance of the pandemic, so that unemployment in 2023 was 20,5% lower than in 2019. In other words, not only have we recovered and Tourism continues to be by far the sector that generates the most opportunities among the Canarian population, but we are 20,5% better off in terms of linked employment. In fact, September 2024 presents the best monthly record in this sense and this month is also the one that presents the best data since 2008, that is, since the appearance of the first great economic crisis of the XNUMXst century. The boost of this activity for the island economy and its recovery, with a notable contribution from British tourists, is more than evident. In addition, they are a client who says in surveys that they are willing to spend more and we want to make the most of their presence on the island,” argued the councillor.
The Councillor for Tourism of the Cabildo took advantage of his presence before the representatives of the British market, together with a team made up of five professionals from the council plus a dozen municipal representatives, to highlight the data of the sector. In this regard, he explained that 2023 closed with 947.449 British tourists, a historical maximum since the appearance of statistical records. Until September 2024, 791.616 clients have arrived from the United Kingdom, 15% more than in the same months of 2023. This trend implies that the year will close with more than one million British visitors and with 8% more in the average spending of this tourist in Gran Canaria compared to the previous annual data and that it was already the best in history for the island. The contribution of the British market alone would mean reaching 1.413 euros and increasing the average stay to 8,8 days and the total expenditure of tourists from the United Kingdom in 2023 was 1.102 million euros, 20% more than in the previous year. The minister highlighted the fact that “70% of visitors from the United Kingdom are repeat visitors, they know us well and they will continue to come, because they know, compared to other tense scenarios, coming to Gran Canaria will allow them to enjoy their holidays to the fullest”.
In terms of connectivity, with the series of meetings scheduled at the Excel venue in London still to be concluded, Gran Canaria is presenting itself in the current 2023/2024 winter season with an 11% increase in the number of places available to travel to the island. All these numbers tell us that Gran Canaria is consolidating itself as the great tourist destination that it is and that this sector, with the key incorporation of the British client and its new positioning, something that has allowed us to compensate for the occasional falls in markets such as the German or Nordic ones. For us, the most important thing is that we are growing significantly in turnover, with a year-on-year increase of 20% and 25% compared to 2019; we are committed to diversifying the offer and decentralizing the destination, in such a way that all municipalities can participate in the wealth generated by the sector, that the benefits reach the pockets of residents in a clearer way and that it can be better distributed throughout the island.”
The opening day of the 2024 edition of the World Travel Market brought together a large number of professionals at the Excel London facilities. The Gran Canaria stand was massively attended, higher than in previous years. Mayors of the tourist municipalities took advantage of the occasion to promote some of their most popular events or some newly created ones. The mayor of Mogán, Onalia Bueno, offered a toast on the occasion of the New Year's Eve chimes that have been scheduled for next December 31, at 12 noon in a festive atmosphere that will take place on the beach.
Finally, Carlos Álamo pointed out that the atmosphere at the professional meetings had been entirely cordial and satisfactory. “We have a strong position that we now want to consolidate, with the idea that the British client will allow us to continue and advance in a strategy that prioritizes spending and billing, over the volume of arrivals and which is still below 2017 in the case of Gran Canaria. Our growth is being sustainable and the element of sustainability is very present. In Gran Canaria we have not built a new hotel for 15 years and in the end the number of beds available in this market is what adjusts the values. Our intention, and we have expressed it this way, is to improve in quality, in services, in the offer and in the time of putting the local product in value. Everything is oriented towards a greater profitability of the presence of the visitor and we are achieving it. Our strategy gives results.”
