This is the conclusion of the report by the hotel association of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Ashotel, which analyses the profile of tourists and the characteristics of travel and examines the extent to which changes have taken place following the covid-19 pandemic.
The island that attracted the highest number of new visitors during the first quarter of 2023 was Fuerteventura with 29.54%, and Lanzarote the lowest with 18.69%. In terms of age, 58.32% of tourists who visited the Canary Islands from January to March were over 44 years old, compared to 60.60% in the first quarter of 2019.
By islands, the one with the highest increase in the youngest segment is Fuerteventura, from 31.83% in the first quarter of 2019 to 42.32% in the same period of 2023. The only island where the segment of over 44 year olds increased is Lanzarote, which reached 63.93% in the first three months of 2023 compared to 60.29% in the equivalent period of 2019.
In terms of accompanying persons, the most important segment during the first quarter of 2023 is made up of people travelling as a couple, 53.37%, followed by those travelling with children, 16.11%. In this case, the same order is maintained as during the first quarter of 2019, although with a decrease of 3.20 points in the segment of couples, (56.58% in 2019) and an increase of 3.56 points in the segment travelling with children, (12.55% in 2019). By islands, the decrease in couple tourism in Fuerteventura stands out, going from 62.71% in 2019 to 54.77% in 2023.
In relation to the country of residence, three markets accounted for almost 60% of the total number of tourists in the two periods analysed. During the first quarter of 2023, 30.62% came from the United Kingdom, 17.79% from Germany and 9.96% from Spain.
These figures are similar to those for the first quarter of 2019, when the percentages for these three markets reached 29.11% for the United Kingdom, 19.68% for Germany and 10.57% for Spain.
By islands, the case of La Palma stands out, where German tourism fell by almost 9 points, from 45.76% in the first quarter of 2019 to 36.94% during the same period in 2023. On the opposite side is the Spanish market, which went from 13.22% in 2019 to 21.66% in 2023. Ashotel attributes this to the effects of the volcanic eruption at Cumbre Vieja in 2021.
The Ashotel survey also shows that the internet or social networks are the information channels used by 29.22% of tourists who visited the Canary Islands during the first quarter of 2023, compared to 31.26% in the same period in 2019. By islands, tourists from La Palma are the ones who used these media the least, 24.73% during the first quarter of 2023. At the other extreme is Fuerteventura, with 33.24%.
In terms of how far in advance the trip is organised, the largest percentage during the first quarter of 2023 is concentrated in a period of more than three months, almost 45% (44.47%), compared to between one and two months, 28.61%, and between zero and thirty days, 26.32%. The latter segment shows a decrease of 4.77 points compared to the figures for the same period in 2019, when it reached 31.09%.
Although this is a situation that is repeated on all the islands, the figure is higher in the case of La Palma, where trips organised up to thirty days in advance fell from 27.73% in the first quarter of 2019 to 18.99% for the same period in 2023. Above-average decreases were also seen in Tenerife, -6.65 points, and in Lanzarote, -6.42.
