In an urgent manifesto that echoes the analytical sobriety of Las Palmas, the Gran Canaria Business Circle has entered 2026 with a stark warning: the archipelago's economic engine is facing a structural bottleneck. According to the organization, the combination of an unprecedented housing crisis and an alarming shortage of skilled workers is eroding the Canary Islands' competitiveness, with a critical impact on southern Gran Canaria, where the tourism industry is struggling to maintain its quality standards in the face of what they describe as an "anachronistic" bureaucracy.
The Círculo's assessment identifies housing not only as a social problem, but also as the main barrier to entry for global talent and internal labor mobility. In the areas adjacent to the tourist centers of San Bartolomé de Tirajana and Mogán, soaring prices have decoupled the residential market from wage realities, making it difficult for service sector companies to fill even their most basic vacancies. To reverse this "threat to social cohesion," the employers' association proposes an Express Plan for Suitable Land and the creation of a Housing Observatory to provide the necessary technical transparency to unblock permits that are currently bogged down in local government bottlenecks.
Beyond the real estate sector, the manifesto underscores a talent shortage that is already hindering the transition to a higher value-added tourism model. The Circle advocates for a "business-education forum" that aligns vocational training with the demands of strategic sectors such as digitalization and renewable energy. The proposal is clear: the Canary Islands cannot afford to maintain high levels of absenteeism and a disconnect between the classroom and the productive sector while competing in an increasingly sophisticated global market.
The solution proposed by Gran Canaria's business elite involves an immediate social pact and a strategic project with a focus on 2035. This plan seeks to safeguard institutional stability and guarantee legal certainty, essential elements for attracting long-term foreign direct investment. In a context where well-being "is not decreed, but built," business leaders demand a shift from diagnosis to regulatory action, warning that without administrative efficiency and a single digital platform that eliminates redundancies, the islands' future will remain mortgaged by political inaction.
