The President of the Canary Islands Government, Fernando Clavijo, urged businessmen this Tuesday to get involved in the infrastructure challenges of the archipelago, in general, and of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, in particular, so that the islands continue to be an attractive tourist destination.
"We also need businessmen, social agents and citizens in general to understand that we have to start changing things if we want to guarantee a better future for the islands," Clavijo declared,
The Canarian president has warned that "the current situation of the island is very good, but that cannot make us put up a curtain and prevent us from deciding to do more of the same in the face of good numbers."
For this reason, he has defended that "we have to make the decision of whether we continue to grow in number or in quality" and has stressed that, due to its size, the solutions cannot be addressed only by the public part.
"I believe that the pandemic evidenced the weaknesses of our economy, it took out the seams and at the time measures had to be taken that were not taken. This Government is taking them now, but we can fall into the risk of complacency in the face of how well things are going and not address those structural reforms that are necessary in the future in case there are issues that once again endanger the main economic activity," he said.
The Canarian president has wondered what would happen if the Canary Islands ceased to be attractive as a tourist destination because "the protected natural spaces, the saturation of the roads or infrastructures begin to be uncomfortable."
"Lanzarote has grown in number, has led that growth in the archipelago, but we continue to have difficulties in infrastructure," he declared when considering whether it is sustainable for more tourists to continue arriving to the islands and whether the infrastructures and clinical services "are able to support it or we have to start thinking that we have to move towards quality and in parallel take measures to improve."
"That has to do with territorial planning, with the water emergency, with the migratory phenomenon, with planning in Arrecife, a municipality that seems to be stuck and never comes out; with port and airport infrastructures..." he added.
Clavijo has also asked himself if the Canary Islands would be prepared for a scenario similar to that of covid-19, pointing out that it is necessary to consider it "when things are going well, because that is when you have the capacity, financial muscle and the opportunity to undertake certain reforms to guarantee a better future."
Visit to Mauritania
Regarding the visit to Spain of the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, he pointed out that "it is a positive push."
"We have been saying for some time that this situation of pressure cannot be supported by an autonomous community just because it is geographically closer. We needed the involvement of the State," he reiterated.
In relation to his trip to Mauritania on February 20 and 21, Clavijo pointed out that he hopes to establish a fluid dialogue with the Mauritanian authorities in relation to the migratory issue, because "they are also supporting enormous migratory pressure," as well as on development and training programs to strengthen commercial and training ties between the archipelago and the African country.