Santa Cruz de Tenerife (EFE).- The Minister of Tourism and Employment of the Regional Government, Jessica de León, stated at the plenary session of the Parliament of the Canary Islands that tourism “must be sustainable otherwise it will not be”, because that is what they claim customers.
This is one of the conclusions reached by the Canary delegation from its participation in the World Tourism Exhibition in London, which was held at the beginning of last November, an event that met with success, and shows that British tourism is the most important in the Canary Islands, and the advisor explained in a parliamentary appearance that growth continues. Despite the economic situation.
De Leon stressed that the Canary Islands government assumes tourism “as a comprehensive policy” because “tourism will be sustainable or it will not be, it cannot be profitable, it cannot raise prices, it has to lower them.”
When speaking about sustainability, he warned that “good intentions and a lapel pin are no longer worth it.”
In their meetings with operators, the Canary delegation stressed that they demand from their customers “to live more sustainable, more environmentally friendly experiences and lower CO2 emissions in hotels.”
According to the advisor, there is a “paradigm shift” in tourism, because the tourist is no longer the main customer, but rather the resident, as tourism is a “tool” whose purpose is “to improve the lives of the residents of the Canary Islands.” “.
Therefore, he continued, the challenge now is to monitor and measure well their impact on the resident population, on the quality of employment, on housing, on emissions, on mobility, on their environmental impact, on energy expenditures, on water consumption, on waste renewal.
Regarding this last aspect, the Chancellor urged city councils to reward companies that make an effort to generate less waste, from their municipal taxes, because it is not fair that the same companies that cause the most pollution should pay.
Regarding the London Tourism Fair, he highlighted its importance for the islands because the British market is the main source of tourists for the Canary Islands, which is the only Spanish region in which the number of visitors and spending has exceeded since 2019.
Jessica de Leon said that one in two British tourists who travel to Spain travel to the Canary Islands, and that 60% of their spending in the destination occurs on the islands.
Britons make up 35% of the islands’ tourism market, which has grown by 15% compared to 2022, and in 2024 growth of 8% is expected, with spending increasing by 32% compared to 2019 in the destination.
British tourism still shows “no sign of weakening” after the Canary Islands managed to “avoid” Brexit, the fall of Thomas Cook, the pandemic, the Ukrainian crisis, inflation, rising interest rates and the devaluation of the pound.
“Not only did we improve, we exceeded all expectations,” he said, and the British did not cut their tourism spending, as had been feared.
For the Chancellor, the unknown now is “how long will we last” after air transport emissions rights come into effect on January 1. Evie
