A debt that "will surely reach 10 or 12 million euros" and a volume of business that has been canceled for the coming months of "between 20 and 25 million euros". These are some of the figures that the closure of Thomas Cook leaves in Lanzarote and that have already caused a tourist complex on the island, specifically the Ficus apartments in Costa Teguise, to file a Temporary Employment Regulation File (ERTE).
Although this complex had been inactive for days, until this Monday afternoon the president of the Lanzarote Tourist Federation, Susana Pérez, refused to give names of the tourist complexes on the island affected by the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook, although, yes, she did not rule out that some would have to close their doors. And, she pointed out that there was at least one hotel in Lanzarote that worked "exclusively" with Thomas Cook and that 80 or 90 percent of the occupancy "of five or six establishments" also depended on the tour operator.
In addition, although in a smaller volume of business, which could nevertheless range from 5 to 50 percent, another significant number of accommodation establishments maintained contracts with Thomas Cook, so there would be "more than 60 affected".
"The impact has been very widespread", indicated the also president of the Insular Association of Hotel and Apartment Businessmen of Lanzarote (Asolan), who explained that the tour operator's bankruptcy has affected "both hotels and apartments" on the island. "It depends on the agreements they had with each one, in general on average, this tour operator was paying at 60 or 90 days, so the billing for September and August at least complete and part of July is there", she added-
"If it is collected, it will take years"
In this regard, Susana Pérez stated that the debt that the tour operator has left with the tourism sector of Lanzarote "is already at eight million". "And it will surely reach 10 or 12 million euros pending", she stated. And, according to the president of the Lanzarote Tourist Federation, "the figures are arriving little by little because there are companies that do not want to give them".
Of that debt, "90% is with the hotel sector" and "if it is collected, it will take years", Pérez pointed out. And, as she explained, "it is still pending to see if the one of the tour operator Monarch is collected or not", whose bankruptcy was already two years ago, so she believes that "we must be realistic".
About 215,000 air seats lost with the United Kingdom
Regarding the air seats that Thomas Cook had scheduled with Lanzarote, the president of the Lanzarote Tourist Federation pointed out that they were "almost 73,000" from now until the end of the year "and 142,000" from January to August.
"And this is only from the United Kingdom, so 50,000 or 60,000 seats from other markets could be added", Susana Pérez specified, who calculated that "between 3,000 and 4,000 tourists will be lost each week". "And this is what urges us the most, because two weeks have already passed, we are on our way to the third, and there is still no concrete measure in place. And no matter how much the Government wants to implement, it will not put those 22 replacement flights in place tomorrow", she indicated.
And, for now, only Jet2 has announced additional seats from the United Kingdom to Lanzarote for the winter season after the closure of Thomas Cook but there are only 40,000 seats. "And all the companies that have been contacted are already talking about the summer, so that is the panorama we have. Will we be better for the summer? Let's hope so", she added.
"The establishments will have to adjust"
Thus, Pérez pointed out until then "the establishments will have to adjust" not ruling out that there would be some closure. "Of course, a temporary closure, without a doubt, although we hope not, at least in Lanzarote", said the president of the Lanzarote Tourist Federation.
"We hope that all the adjustments are temporary, although it is true that, with the exception of Jet2 and no matter how many seats it puts, there are many establishments that have run out of tourists and that it is a cake to be shared among many. Even those who did not have a contract with Thomas Cook are being indirectly affected, because if I have a contract with Jet2 for example and now Jet2 also contracts with my neighbor next door, I no longer receive the same tourists", she explained.
In this regard, the president of the Lanzarote Tourist Federation insisted that she has "urged the public administrations, the Government of the Canary Islands and the central Government, to accelerate the process of implementing measures" to alleviate the impact of the closure of Thomas Cook. "But as of today they have not materialized. And although this Friday it is expected that some measures and incentives for connectivity and promotion will be approved in the Council of Ministers, we must be realistic. The flights are not going to come overnight", she pointed out.
She predicts "a difficult winter" for the sector although "with hope"
In this way, Susana Pérez predicted "a difficult winter" for the sector although "with the hope and illusion that the airlines, with the incentives that can be put in place, will schedule an increase in routes and capacity for the summer".
"Hopefully they will give us some surprise in the coming weeks", she stated in this regard, expressing her desire that Ryanair would reverse its decision to close its base on the island as Norwegian has done in Gran Canaria and Tenerife, a company with which Susana Pérez stated that contacts are also being made.
"It is a company with which contacts had already been made, although it has not seen opportunity or business in Lanzarote, but it has always been tried to be seen for the potential that the island has. Therefore, maybe positive news will arise overnight, although we need many added, because we are talking about Thomas Cook was the third tour operator for us", Pérez indicated, insisting that its bankruptcy means "an impact of 20% in the British business volume".
In addition, the president of the Tourist Federation highlighted "the competition" that Lanzarote has with other destinations not only in Spain, but in other countries such as Turkey and Tunisia. "They are looking like us for companies and also with much faster, more powerful and more aggressive incentives. If they have to remove the fees from today to tomorrow, they remove them; and if they have to pay for the empty seat to get the plane to take them, they do it", she concluded.