The Ministry of Public Construction, Transport and Housing of the Canary Islands Government is allocating 36.5 million euros this year to facilitate inter-island boat journeys for residents.
The Regional Government’s Transport Department is promoting this measure after recently publishing in the Official Canary Islands Gazette (BOC) the order establishing the system of subsidies for the fourth and last quarter of 2022 and the first, second and third quarters of 2023.
With this publication, the Regional Ministry continues to promote public policies to encourage inter-island transport and the mobility of residents in the Canary Islands by providing its own funds to meet the 25% of the rebate that corresponds to the Autonomous Community, since the other 50%, up to the 75% provided by the REF, is provided by the State.
In this sense, the Ministry paid a total of 31,747,653 euros during the first three quarters of 2022 to the shipping companies operating in the Canary Islands, charged to the regional percentage of the rebate for the residents’ discount.
This publication in the BOC, which is in accordance with the application of Decree 222/2000, which establishes the subsidy system, makes it possible to establish the subsidies and their processing for the main operators in the Canary Islands.
In this regard, during the 2022 financial year, quarterly payments were made to the shipping companies: Trasmediterránea S.A.; Naviera Armas; Videocosta S.L.; Graciosamar Cruceros S.L.; Líneas Marítimas Romero S.L. and Fred Olsen S.A. as reimbursement for the application of 25% of the subsidy for Canary Islands residents.
During the first three quarters of 2022, these maritime operators carried a total of 3,332,918 passengers on inter-island trips, with the third quarter (corresponding to the months of July, August and September) being the most popular with almost one and a half million passengers in this period alone, representing the highest number of passengers experienced in the last four years.
According to the Regional Ministry, the overall calculation for the first three quarters of 2022 reflects a “distinct trend” towards consolidation and even an increase in inter-island travel and maritime mobility between the islands.
