French tourism in the Canary Islands grows by 33% compared to pre pandemic numbers
The Canary Islands Tourism Board attended the French Grand Pavois nautical fair, held in the important Atlantic port of La Rochelle (southwest coast of France), where it highlighted the great growth that the French market has experienced in the archipelago since 2010.
In the last 13 years alone, French tourism in the Canary Islands has multiplied almost four times, while compared to before the pandemic, it has increased by more than 30%.
In 2022, the number of French tourists who arrived in the Canary Islands increased by 33% compared to 2019, going from 583,000 in the pre-Covid era to 775,000 last year. A growth that has continued in 2023, since from January to July the arrival of visitors from France has increased by 15% compared to the same period last year, going from 425,000 tourists to 489,000. The growth has been much greater compared to the same months in 2019, with 42% more.
These data have been maintained for more than a decade, since since 2010 the number of French visitors has almost quadrupled, growing from 204,000 in 2010 to more than 775,000 in 2022. According to the Ministry of Tourism and Employment of the Government of the Canary Islands, this significant increase can be explained, in large part, due to the “growing commitment” to air connectivity between the islands and France.
Currently, there are different companies that have direct flights between France and the Canary Islands archipelago, such as Binter, easyJet, Volotea, Vueling, Transavia and Ryanair. In addition, easyJet will operate a new route between Nantes and Lanzarote starting this winter, when there will be approximately 307,000 airline seats planned between the archipelago and French airports.
“Market diversification is an essential strategy when it comes to continuing to advance the competitiveness and resilience of the Canary Islands destination,” said counselor Jessica de León, adding that “in markets such as France, great progress has been achieved, but “there is still growth potential.”
