The president of the Cabildo, Pedro San Ginés, and the island councilor of Tourism Promotion, Ángel Vázquez, lead the Lanzarote representation present at Fitur 2019, which started on Wednesday morning "with a tight work schedule in which sustainability and intelligent tourism technology have a prominent role within the strategy designed by the Lanzarote Foreign Promotion Society (SPEL-Turismo Lanzarote), led by the CEO of the entity, Héctor Fernández", according to the institution.
In this way, the Lanzarote delegation has deployed this Wednesday the "best credentials" of Lanzarote as a Biosphere destination and has shown its "determined" commitment to technological innovation with its presence in two events "of extraordinary importance from a strategic point of view", according to the Cabildo.
On the one hand, Lanzarote, which has the Biosphere Certification, is participating in this edition of the Madrid fair in the parallel stand Biosphere Destination Community, an initiative that brings together all the destinations in the world that have received this distinction. In it, Héctor Fernández made a presentation of the island "reinforcing the positioning of Lanzarote as a sustainable destination, emphasizing its uniqueness and its historical path of respect and environmental care".
The president of the Cabildo, Pedro San Ginés, who recalled the island's 25 years as a Biosphere Reserve and the commemoration in this year 2019 of the centenary of the birth of the most universal Lanzarote native, César Manrique, highlighted "the island's sensitivity in terms of sustainability and the multiple real projects and initiatives that are being carried out in Lanzarote in order to achieve sustainable waste management and the implementation of clean energy, a commitment that adds to the trajectory that in environmental matters has characterized and positioned Lanzarote as a sustainable tourism model of reference at an international level, and that must continue to be an indispensable challenge if it contributes to the well-being, quality of life and sustainable progress of the population of Lanzarote".
Participation in the Innovation and Tourism Technology Forum
Along these lines, on the other hand, within the framework of the FiturtechY 2019 Tourism Innovation and Technology Forum, the CEO of SPEL-Turismo Lanzarote, Héctor Fernández, participated in the debate table 'The social impact of tourism', within the #techYsostenibilidad forum, "another event parallel to the fair itself, but equally of great relevance as it is focused on the efficient and sustainable management of tourism activity" according to the Cabildo, which was held under the slogan 'Quality, sustainable and inclusive tourism. Putting the destination before the product'.
According to the Councilor for Tourism Promotion of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, Ángel Vázquez, "technological innovation is an essential instrument today to achieve other of our main objectives, such as attracting sustainable and quality tourism, a goal that we must unanimously pursue the entire island society".
Attracting national tourism
Apart from these two axes, the island promotion entity affirms that it has focused mostly "on strengthening and conquering the national market, which in the first eleven months of 2018 followed an upward path experiencing an increase of 5% in relation to the same period of the previous year".
"We must focus on the Spanish tourist, who is among the most related to our destination and is undoubtedly one of the most interesting for the island, due to its high level of spending and the search for a variety of experiences that Lanzarote offers, through the product clubs in which we are working intensely, such as, in addition to the sustainable product, the gastronomic one, which takes on a specific island weight through Saborea Lanzarote, and the sports one, under the umbrella of European Sports Destination, among others", said Vázquez.
Proof of this, the institution points out, are the meetings that the team of professionals from the island promotion entity has held since early this Wednesday "with some of the most powerful Spanish tour operators" such as Viajes El Corte Inglés, Eroski or Travelplan (belonging to the Globalia Group) and Destinia, one of the main Spanish OTAs (online travel agency).
Boosting domestic tourism
"Within the framework of this Fair, as every year, a session of the Canary Islands Federation (Fecai) has taken place this morning, in which it has been agreed to travel through all the islands, charged to each Cabildo, the exhibition project `100 years: Lanzarote and César´ that I hope will boost domestic tourism in the Canary Islands", the president of the Cabildo highlighted on the other hand. In this sense, it is noteworthy that the Art, Culture and Tourism Centers (CACT) received 34% more visitors from the islands last year, which may be a good indicator of a greater influx of Canary tourism to the island of Lanzarote.
In the afternoon, the meetings of the professionals of the island promotion entity were scheduled to continue, and it will be the turn of the wholesaler Nautalia, as well as some of the main airlines that connect with the Peninsula, such as Volotea, Air Europa and Vueling. However, within the strategy of diversification of markets, there will also be meetings with the French tour operator Ô Vôyages (formerly Thalasso nº1), TUI or Thomas Cook Belgium, among other European operators.
Although the day of this Thursday, January 24, will continue with Spanish tourism agents and airlines, among which are Soltour, Atrapalo and Iberia Express, SPEL-Turismo Lanzarote wants to take advantage of the Madrid event to also address "the uncertain situation of Brexit" with Jet2 & Jet2 Holidays, which has become the second tourist group in the United Kingdom, and with whose managers will hold a working breakfast first thing in the morning.
Traditional visit of the president of the Canary Islands Government to the Lanzarote stand
On the other hand, the president of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, and the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports of the Canary Islands Government, Isaac Castellano, made the traditional visit to the Lanzarote stand in the middle of this Wednesday morning, where they were received by the president of the Cabildo, Pedro San Ginés, the island councilor of Tourism Promotion, Ángel Vázquez, the councilor of the Art, Culture and Tourism Centers (CACT) and of the Casa de los Volcanes-Geoparque, Echedey Eugenio, as well as by the councilors of Tourism of Tías, Amado Vizcaíno; of Haría, Soraya Brito and of Yaiza, Olga Caraballo.
Likewise, the Madrid tourism event also has the presence of the Councilor for Tourism of Arrecife, David Duarte, and has brought together a large representation of the business, management and professional field of the island's tourism sector, among whom are the president of the Island Association of Hotel and Apartment Entrepreneurs of Lanzarote (ASOLAN), Susana Pérez, among other partners and sponsors of the island promotion entity.