The Lanzarote delegation closed the first day at Fitur 2014 with a feeling of "satisfaction", given the response offered by international markets to the Lanzarote brand and with good prospects regarding the national market.
The managing director of Turismo Lanzarote, Héctor Fernández, highlighted the announcement made by the heads of Monarch Travel Group to increase the capacity of places offered for summer 2014 by 8 percent. "Good news that consolidates the excellent relations we have with this group, one of the main agents in the British market and a great partner of Turismo Lanzarote in that market," Fernández pointed out.
Following on with the British market, Fernández also highlighted the forecasts of the company Jet2.com, winner of the Isla de Lanzarote 2012 award, to reach 17 weekly flights from seven different bases during the coming summer. In this sense, the CEO of the SPEL has confirmed the numbers offered by the British market last year.
"It should be noted that, despite being a fully consolidated and mature market, last year the island received 973,000 British passengers, 7.75 percent more than in 2012," he said, while stating that the figures offered by the heads of the British group "are sufficient guarantee to maintain the close ties of collaboration that exist at present".
Ryanair will make 75 weekly connections
Another "great piece of news" that Turismo Lanzarote has achieved at Fitur has to do with Ryanair's forecasts for the upcoming summer season. The company will go from 65 to 75 weekly connections. At the same time, they conveyed to their interlocutors the new business strategic line, which involves seeking destinations with which to sign multi-year promotional agreements that involve, in addition to the increase in routes, the growth of the operational base that the company currently has on the island.
Another of the markets that continues to give good news is the Scandinavian one. Kuoni-Apollo, one of the main partners and collaborators of Turismo Lanzarote in the area, conveyed to the Lanzarote delegation that it will maintain its operation on the island during the current winter as a result of the results it recorded during the past year, in which it experienced a growth of around 50 percent.
Another Scandinavian tour operator, Solresor, conveyed its "good feelings with Lanzarote", justified by a growth of 60 percent during the current winter season, based on the increase in flights from Helsinki and Copenhagen. The directors of this group pledged to maintain their current campaign with the island during the coming summer, demystifying the idea that the great results of the island during the current year have been due to the crisis in Egypt, a country that is beginning to stabilize socially and economically.
Italian and Dutch market
It should also be noted the incursion that the Lanzarote delegation made in the Italian market through Viaggi del Turchesse, a division of the TUI group in the transalpine country. "It is a pending issue that we have to work on after having barely experienced an improvement in 2013," Fernández acknowledged. The meeting held this Wednesday was "a challenge" that starts from the design of a joint strategy to penetrate that market. In that sense, the representatives of the Italian group presented a Promotional Plan that Turismo Lanzarote will study "carefully and thoroughly".
Holland was, without a doubt, one of the great surprises of the Lanzarote tourist market during the past year. "One of the keys was the presentation of the TUI Holland catalog, which took place on the island at the end of last year," Fernández recalled. Not in vain, the island grew 16.99 percent in that market in 2012. And the trend remains unchanged, with 35 percent this winter and prospects of 24 percent for next summer.
In addition, the online marketing strategy of the destination was addressed through Rumbo.es, which is yielding "very positive" data. Thus, sales of airline tickets through this platform grew 12 percent last year, and hotel sales grew 17 percent. In addition, there are pending promotional actions that will continue to be executed
Finally, the Polish market was explored with Roque González, director of the Spanish Tourism Office (Turespaña) in Warsaw, in order to continue boosting a market that grew by 10.84 percent in passengers on the island during 2012. At the meeting held on Wednesday at Fitur, a promotional calendar was agreed in that line.
National market
As for the national market, the national tour operator Solresor announced its intention to maintain its two flights in summer from the Portuguese cities of Lisbon and Porto. Turismo Lanzarote also held a meeting with the heads of Globalia, who announced an increase in the capacity of their aircraft of 10 percent for next summer. In addition, they informed the Lanzarote delegation that they have experienced a growth of 23 percent this winter, after having suffered a decrease of 35 percent during the winters of 2011 and 2012.
El Corte Inglés, for its part, conveyed its intention to carry out a fam trip on the island during the coming month of February.
The morning session this Thursday starts with a working breakfast with the heads of Norwegian. A delegation from Huelva, with the president of the Provincial Council at the head, Muchoviaje.com, TUI Travel PLC and Thalasso nº1, among others, will be some of the interlocutors of the Turismo Lanzarote team during the second day of the Fitur fair, in Madrid.