Canary Islands Tourism premiered 13 December in New York the television programme ‘Hidden Canary Islands’, which was screened before a large gathering of tour operators, travel agents and the North American media.
The Canary Islands Minister of Tourism, Industry and Trade, Yaiza Castilla, and the programme’s director, Emmy award-winning journalist Peter Greenberg, were in charge of presenting this hour-long audiovisual production, which is to be broadcast on the public television channel PBS before a potential audience of 260 million viewers.
According to Castilla, the action forms part of “our market diversification strategy and represents a great opportunity to approach North American tourists and promote the ‘Canary Islands’ brand as a holiday destination, emphasising its diversity of landscapes, fine climate as well as its culture and identity as distinguishing factors”.
The climate was precisely one of the many advantages that Castilla highlighted to the North American sector professionals, with a focus on attracting tourists from this country, who are characterised by the search for new experiences and for actively discovering the local culture, with longer than average stays and a great capacity for spending, according to a statement issued by the Regional Ministry.
The minister also reminded those present that, in addition to the direct flight between Tenerife and New York in summer, the Canary Islands is one of the best-connected destinations in Europe, with 722 routes operated by 54 airlines connecting the islands to 153 airports.
In his speech, Peter Greenberg explained that the idea of his programme has always been based on telling unique things about destinations and experiences that are not the usual ones that usually appear in guidebooks and travel portals, and in the Canary Islands he found spectacular elements.
He was surprised not only by the landscapes, the food and the culture, but also by “the great diversity of the archipelago”.
260 MILLION VIEWERS
Hidden Canary Islands’ will be broadcast over several years on the PBS network, so it is expected to be seen by around 260 million Americans, to which a further 150 million people will be added as this audiovisual work is to be distributed in Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
The show hosted by Peter Greenberg premiered in prime time on public television, including major markets such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. It is also now available on a number of platforms, including Amazon Prime and AppleTV+.
Filmed in November last year, the hour-long programme features singular experiences on each of the eight islands.
The feature focuses on the cultural and identity values of the destination with the aim of showing a complete and differentiated image of the archipelago that is highly attractive to the American market.
Greenberg’s target audience in the United States is affluent, culturally aware and frequently travelled, both domestically and internationally.
In addition, a large percentage of the production company’s content consumers are college graduates and make more than $100,000 a year.
