[HIGHLIGHTS] It attracts more French people every year: what is the secret of this Spanish archipelago?

Last January, the Canary Islands received 1.32 million foreign visitors, 9.2% more than in 2023. Hoteliers expect the rest of the year to be just as good and return to pre-Covid good times.

“We are the only ones in Europe to offer a pleasant climate in the middle of winter,” says Jose Maria Mañaricua, director of operations for the Gloria Thalasso & Hotels group. The archipelago, even after Brexit, continues to captivate the British, who represent almost 40% of foreign visitors. The French come quite far behind the British,. the Germans and the Scandinavians, says Juan Pablo González, manager of AsHotel, the association of hoteliers in the department of Tenerife, which includes the islands of Tenga, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro. The Canaries are, according to the definition of its professionals, the closest exotic destination to the old continent and the only one at this distance belonging to an EU member state.