The Tourism Department of the Government of the Canary Islands has expressed its "total rejection and opposition" to the decision of the airport manager Aena to raise airport fees by 4.1% from March 2024, understanding that it will damage the tourist competitiveness of the islands.
"Any tax that increases costs and reduces our competitiveness worries us and is not good news for the Canary Islands because it will make the tourism product more expensive, since it will raise the prices of airline tickets for a consumer who is increasingly sensitive to the final price of their trips", says the Minister of Tourism and Employment, Jéssica de León, in a statement.
In addition, the Ministry opposes the public entity's profits obtained from January to June 2023, which show a gross operating profit of 1,170.3 million euros.
According to the Government of the Canary Islands, arrivals to the islands this summer have grown by around 3.4% and the air seats scheduled for the winter have increased by 35% compared to 2019 and 8.8% compared to 2022 and, if Aena finally applies this increase, it could "negatively affect" the tourism strategy of the autonomous community.
De León has demanded the incorporation of the Canary Islands into Aena's board of directors, due to the importance of air transport for the archipelago and its dependence on connectivity.
