The Minister of Tourism of the Government of the Canary Islands, Yaiza Castilla, and the Director of Marketing Projects, Alberto Ávila, presented today, Monday, the action plan to promote the Easter and summer holidays of Canary Islanders in the Islands, which in this case amounts to 2.1 million euros.
“Internal tourism has a significant impact on the economy of the Canary Islands and represents a significant volume of business for the tourism sector,” Castilla said. In 2022, the total expenditure of Canary Islands residents on travel within the archipelago amounted to 5% of the sector’s total accounts, behind only those of the British, Germans and mainlanders. They even exceeded the turnover of the French and Portuguese markets combined by 30%.
The Minister also stressed that while local tourists in the Canary Islands enjoy travelling at all times of the year, their trips are concentrated in the warmer months, which complements the decline in demand in some international markets and results in stable tourism demand.
“In addition, locals are the most informed about the destination and what is on offer. In fact, 98% of them do not book package tours and are looking for authentic and local experiences, which allows for greater and better reallocation of their spending,” she added.
Domestic tourism also contributes to the diversification of the Canary Islands’ economic engine, especially in the traditionally less touristy islands. In 2022, more than 61% of tourists staying in El Hierro came from the Canary Islands, 41% in La Gomera and 23% in La Palma. “On average, they represent 10% of all holidaymakers, so we are talking about a very important share of domestic tourism for an international tourism power like the Canary Islands,” the minister explained.
In order to promote this domestic tourism, the shipping companies will strengthen the maritime connections between the islands to meet the demand of travellers with 910,000 places for Easter. Naviera Armas will have 500,000 seats and Fred. Olsen Express will have 410,000 seats.
Inter-island flight capacity will also be very positive for Easter, reaching 177,824 seats, 9.1% more than the same period in 2022. There will also be 3,810,988 inter-island seats for the summer season, 6.1% more than last year’s summer.
AN “UNCONDITIONAL” VISITOR
As Castilla explained, “these positive prospects justify our commitment to a segment that improves the resilience of the Canary Islands’ tourism model, as it is an unconditional visitor that brings security and reliability to the destination”. The segment is so large that last year almost 4 million residents travelled to the islands and almost 1.3 million stayed in hotels and holiday homes.
“We are making a historic commitment to Canary Islands tourism because it fulfils most of the strategic objectives of the Canary Islands brand, from reducing the risk of concentration on traditional markets and reducing dependence on the sun and beach category, to extending the economic benefits to the whole region and greater direct marketing, which means that the whole of society shares in the benefits of tourism,” she concluded.
For these reasons, Canary Islands Tourism invested 1.9 million euros in this segment last year, which, taking into account the tourism turnover of 817 million by residents, means that for every euro invested, 430 euros are returned to the destination.
For 2023, Canary Islands Tourism is reinforcing its commitment to this segment by allocating 2.1 million euros to an action plan focused on the most popular times for residents to travel, Easter and summer, as well as a promotional campaign for the new edition of the La Palma Tourist Voucher, for which it will allocate 2 million euros.
A PLAN FOR THE CANARY ISLANDS
As Alberto Ávila explained, “the two campaigns will be carried out through a multi-channel media strategy, on the radio, in the print and digital press, on social networks and on television, with a familiar tone”. Under the slogan ‘Planazo canario’, the campaign is being developed to encourage outings at Easter and to convey the concept that a variety of inspiring plans can be made to encourage the consumption of tourism products in the archipelago.
“We intend, through a simple and direct proposal, to awaken the enjoyment of tourism activities in the Canary Islands, to promote the discovery of all that the eight islands have to offer and thus improve the spending of residents,” Ávila added. The campaign will direct visitors to the landing page, which includes the Holaislascanarias website planner.
For the summer, the ‘On your island or on mine’ campaign will be activated, also targeting this market, with “a call to visit neighbouring islands, putting the prescriber, the Canarian who knows his land well, at the centre of the incentives, again with the aim of increasing overall sales through longer stays,” as summarised by the project director.
The goal is for the resident to strive for discovery and reunion, either with the secret corners of their own island that they don’t know, or by discovering the island of their partner, their family, their friend. “A goal we want to achieve through pieces that explode the decision through a challenge, an illusion that contrasts one island with another, one life with another,” concludes Ávila.
