Canary Islands recover over 50% of tourist activity in 2021 and hope for 90% recovery in 2022

Published on January 20, 2022
Canary IslandsNews from Canary Islands
canary islands tourism after coronavirus

The Canary Islands inaugurated their pavilion at Fitur 2022 International Tourism Fair in Madrid, announcing the recovery of more than 50% of their tourist activity in 2021 and the forecast that in 2022 this will reach 90%.

In his speech, the President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres highlighted that the Canary Islands “achieved in 2021 an estimated tourist turnover of 8,000 million euros, that is, 54% of the figure generated in 2019”, a pre-Covid year in which 15,000 million euros were reached.

This was possible, Torres said, thanks to the recovery that began in the second half of the year in which, in the absence of knowing the exact figure for December, "2021 would close with a figure close to 7 million national and international tourists", the president pointed out.

Among other indicators, Torres also indicated that the reactivation is being noted in more favorable data on employment. "In December 2021 we had a better unemployment rate than we had before the pandemic and that is the way forward," he said. For the head of the Canarian Executive, “if there are no unforeseen events, and we depend on the evolution of the Covid, 2022 will be the year of recovery ”.

Ángel Víctor Torres pointed out that for this winter there are 11.3% more air seats connecting the islands with the peninsula and that "The Canary Islands will welcome national tourism as well as British, German, Scandinavian and other visitors who want to visit us with open arms".

The president had a special mention to La Palma and the end of the eruption on an island that, together with the entire archipelago, expects tourists who want to "enjoy our gastronomy, hospitality, our infrastructures, our beauty and our weather".

Finally, Torres shared a reflection on the recovery of tourism and the transformation of the Canarian economy, taking advantage of the extraordinary resources that come from Europe, such as the Next Generation funds, "which are committed to green transformation and more sustainable tourism." Resources that, in the president's opinion, "must be well managed so that they reach Canarian society and, also through tourism, generate more and better opportunities and transform our land," he concluded.

For her part, the counselor Yaiza Castilla emphasized that "despite all the hard times experienced since the start of the pandemic, the islands have continued to make progress and I want to believe that this is already unstoppable" and added that different sources and World indicators repeatedly point to Spain as the third largest holiday destination in the world, "which undoubtedly benefits the archipelago".

“Our climate, our heritage offer, nature, our gastronomy and also two elements that have become fundamental aspects to choose a destination, such as physical and health security, guarantee that we are in those first positions when it comes to people's vacation aspirations”, explained Castilla.

Castilla spoke that the Canary Islands have overcome a year that started badly in terms of tourism, with the help of domestic and national tourism, closing with the recovery of more than 50% of tourist activity.

A positive figure in which peninsular tourism played an important role, which led the recovery since the outbreak of the pandemic, displacing British visitors for the first time and becoming the main issuing market in 2021, with 1,296,265 visitors arriving from the peninsula.

Finally, the Minister highlighted the commitment to sustainability and the decarbonization of tourism activity as a hallmark of the islands.

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