The row between the Tenerife Island Council and Jet2 continues to be a topic of discussion. If last week the institutional arrogance of Rosa Dávila (president of the Tenerife Island Council) already made evident the lack of political tact with one of the airlines that brings the most tourists to the Canary Islands, now it is the hotel sector itself that is giving her a well-deserved slap on the wrist.
El Rosa Dávila's tantrum with Jet2 (which, remember, simply did what any company would do: warn that If the Canary Islands scare away tourists, Jet2 would set its sights on other destinations) resulted in a response more appropriate for a bar chat than for a responsible leader. “Take your four planes and take them there” has gone from being a bravado to a serious problem for the tourism sector on the islands. And the hotel sector has reacted.
The Tenerife hotel industry association has not been slow to distance itself from the attitude of the island president. The criticism against Jet2 has been described as “unfortunate” by the businessmen, who understand that British tourism is not a market that can be spoken of with contempt.
The message is clear: if you want tourism to continue to flow, it is better not to try to scare away those who fill hotels, restaurants and shops. The reality is that Jet2 moves hundreds of thousands of Britons to the Canary Islands every year, many of them bound for the south of Gran Canaria, where occupancy figures depend largely on air connectivity with the United Kingdom.
In the south of Gran Canaria, where the tourism sector is the driving force of the economy, this type of disagreement is causing concern. While Tenerife allows itself the luxury of standing up to Jet2, in the south of Gran Canaria many fear the worst with this challenge that the neighbouring island has decided to take on the largest tour operator in the United Kingdom.
Just over five years ago, when Thomas Cook went bankrupt, Gran Canaria felt the blow with chain cancellations and hotels that were left with empty rooms. Now, with the shadow of competition lurking, increasingly selective tour operators and the noise on social networks of anti-tourist movements that reach the ears of our issuing markets, the provocative strategy from the Tenerife institutions seems, at the very least, imprudent.