Sun and 20º all year round, beaches with fine sand and volcanic rocks, lazy vacations or hikes in a tropical forest... All just a 4-hour flight from Paris, in an area where you pay in euros, drives on well-maintained roads, and receives treatment in European hospitals. 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, Spain.
These are some of the assets which explain why the archipelago breaks its attendance records almost every year. Last January, according to the latest figures available from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the Canary Islands received 1.32 million foreign visitors, 9.2% more than in 2023 and the best January in their story. And hoteliers expect the rest of the year to be just as good and return to pre-Covid good times. “
We think we will do better than in 2019 and 2018
,” calculates Jose Maria Mañaricua, president of the employers' organization of hoteliers on the island of Gran Canaria FEHT.
Probably a little less than in 2017, when the Arab Spring diverted some travelers towards our archipelago
.
“
Our high season is from All Saints’ Day to Easter. To get this weather outside the Canaries, you have to go to the Caribbean or Egypt. »
Jose Maria Mañaricua, operations director of the Gloria Thalasso & Hotels group
An optimism fueled by the privileged location of the Spanish islands. “
We are the only ones in Europe to offer a pleasant climate in the middle of winter,”
says Mañaricua, who is also director of operations for the Gloria Thalasso & Hotels group.
Our high season is from All Saints' Day to Easter. To have this weather outside the Canaries, you have to go to the Caribbean or Egypt
. Except that the Arab country does not offer the same level of security, health service or legal tranquility as Spanish territory. And that the conflict at its gates may deter some Red Sea enthusiasts this season.
“Abandon the race to the visitors”?
The archipelago, even after Brexit, continues to captivate the British, who represent almost 40% of foreign visitors. “
Their vacations are sacred, despite Brexit and inflation,”
says Juan Pablo González, manager of AsHotel, the association of hoteliers in the department of Tenerife, which includes the islands of Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro
. This is also a trend that we observe among all our visitors: priority for vacations, even if we have to wait another year to change the car or the dishwasher
. Inflation, moreover, could play a role for the Canaries. “
With the increase in fuel prices, it makes a difference to take a medium rather than a long haul,”
reasons Mañaricua.
On the other hand, we observe a shortening of stays
.
The French come quite far behind the British, the Germans and the Scandinavians. “
Probably because you are used to going to your own Overseas. But some French people discovered the Canaries with the pandemic, the territory seemed more open and safer than others. It’s up to us to retain their loyalty
. ”
There remains the price of success: until when can the islands make room for new tourists, when other destinations begin to saturate? “
We spread out the visitors over 12 months that others receive in four
,” adds Mañaricua. González, for his part, recognizes that “
we will have to abandon the race for the visitor record. By definition, on an island, you cannot accommodate more and more people. Traditionally in Tenerife, tourists stayed in hotels in the south and the local population lived in the larger towns. But the recent boom in tourist rentals can cause tensions. This could be solved by social housing or real estate developments, but it has been years since anyone has built anything
.