The Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce of the Government of the Canary Islands, Yaiza Castilla, has regretted the German Government's decision to include the Canary Islands among the destinations at risk due to the increase in infections and has pointed out that it is "essential to toughen the restrictive measures and controls" on the islands to "redirect the situation in the next four weeks". In addition, she has requested "the firm commitment of the entire population, who must become aware that almost one in two jobs depend directly or indirectly on tourism, without counting all the induced employment generated by this activity in the Canary Islands.”
Regarding the decision of Germany, Castilla has stated that "it will undoubtedly mean a clear decrease in the demand for travel to the Canary Islands, although not as drastic as in the case of the United Kingdom", since for the moment it is not mandatory to carry out a 15-day quarantine upon return, and it can be replaced by carrying out a test that verifies that you are free of the virus and in any case wait in home quarantine until the result.
However, and as the Minister of Tourism was told these days from the German Embassy in Spain, this requirement will predictably be replaced from the beginning of October by the obligation of quarantine.
Sebastian Ebel, CEO of the world's largest tour operator TUI, announced this week in Las Palmas in a meeting held with the President of the Canary Islands and the Minister of Tourism that this decision by the German Government regarding the Canary Islands will mean a decrease a priori in its turnover and, although it will maintain certain operations with the islands, he appealed to the urgency of redirecting this situation before October, given the fact that the Canary Islands are the only viable alternative for a sun and beach destination for this winter for the European market.
Magnus Wikner, CEO of Nordic Leisure Travel Group, the main tour operator in Scandinavia, expressed himself in the same terms on Tuesday before Yaiza Castilla. "Although we all recognize that the demand for travel worldwide is greatly diminished by the situation generated by Covid-19, we cannot miss this opportunity to be the only vacation destination for those citizens who are looking for a place of sun and beach for the coming months with European health standards and services,” the counselor stressed.
In addition to controlling the level of incidence of the pandemic, Castilla has once again insisted on the need for PCR tests to be implemented at origin and destination, "not only as a measure to protect the Canarian population, but as an element of trust for tourists and their respective governments in view of considering the Islands as a safe territory." To this end, Turismo de Canarias affirms that it is "already working on a proposal that makes this measure viable between now and the winter season" and assures that it "has for the first time the involvement of the main tour operators, in addition to the offer from the Canarian business associations.”
German tourism in the Canary Islands
The islands received 15.1 million tourists last year. Of these, Germans are the second largest market, only preceded by the British. They total almost 2.7 million tourists, 18% of the total and 20% if only international tourists are taken into account (13.1 million). Although they are distributed throughout all the islands, they have a greater weight in Gran Canaria (24%) and, above all, in Fuerteventura, where they reach a market share of 40%. Likewise, the German tourist is one of those with the highest average expenditure per trip (1,276 euros per tourist and trip compared to the average of 1,136 euros).
German tourism has a high relative weight in the Canary Islands compared to the rest of the autonomous communities in Spanish territory, with a market share of 19% compared to 13% nationally.
"The German is a very loyal tourist to the Canary Islands. They come throughout the year, but it is in the winters when they do so with greater force. It had decreased slightly after the air connectivity problems derived from the bankruptcies of Germania and, later, Thomas Cook (Neckerman), although the Canary Islands were working intensely to improve this situation," they point out from the Ministry.