Águeda Borges: "The tourism sector is the first interested in protecting the landscape of Lanzarote"

The lawyer from Lanzarote is the vice president of the Federation of Hospitality and Tourism Businessmen of the province and has shared with Ekonomus the key actions for sustainable and excellent tourism.

June 10 2023 (08:55 WEST)
Updated in June 10 2023 (11:01 WEST)
Agueda Borges, Vice President of the Federation of Business Owners of Hostelry and Tourism of the province of Las Palmas
Agueda Borges, Vice President of the Federation of Business Owners of Hostelry and Tourism of the province of Las Palmas

Águeda Borges, from Lanzarote, carries her island "burned into her heart" wherever she goes, whether on other Canary Islands, on the peninsula, or abroad. With a degree in law and specializing in business, she manages institutional relations for the RIU hotel group and, among other executive positions, is the vice president of the Federation of Hospitality and Tourism Businessmen of the province of Las Palmas (FEHT).

In an interview with Ekonomus, she breaks down the keys she considers essential for tourism in Lanzarote to be sustainable without losing competitiveness and for it to be focused on excellence. 

 

  • The majority of hotel managers and tourism entrepreneurs are still men, what has changed and what hasn't changed in recent decades for a woman to reach management positions in the sector?

 Psychologically, how a woman is seen in a management position has changed, and legally, the ability to reconcile, also for men. In tourism, there has always been a large female presence, it is a very internationalized world, we are used to seeing female executives from tour operators and international companies. 

I believe in personal worth, tireless work, and sacrifice. I also believe that you have to assert yourself and be very alert and vigilant. I hope the moment comes when no one asks you how much you have had to sacrifice along the way or if you have to defend yourself like a man. The world is increasingly defined less by gender or sex. 

 

"The conviction that the island must be protected is in the DNA of the people of Lanzarote"

 

  • What is your relationship with the island of Lanzarote like?

I always try to make sure that the first thing they know about me is my name and the second, that I am from Lanzarote, because I carry my land burned into my heart. I have been away for many years, but I always go as much as I can, my extended family is there. My family home and my origins, my roots, are there. Every time I go, I always see something that touches my soul.

"Tour operators do not contract hotels that do not have an environmental quality seal"

  • Next year, UNESCO will carry out the analysis it performs every ten years in Lanzarote to verify that the island continues to meet the criteria to be a Biosphere Reserve. Some voices have warned of the risk of losing the qualification, what do you think?

I don't think we are at risk of losing the qualification. I think we continue to meet the conditions they examine, but of course, what we have to do is be the first to believe it and to show that we do not give up. 

The conviction that the island must be protected and safeguarded is in the DNA of all the people of Lanzarote and all the residents, but we also have to live in it with dignity, we have to invest where it is needed and we have to be responsible for our own things. It is a collective and at the same time individual responsibility, and then, of course, by extension, there must be a facilitating, agile public administration with a single conscience.

 

  • How are tourism companies behaving in the environmental field?

Most companies are fulfilling their environmental duties. There is a large investment and a great awareness. Our strength is our climate and our landscape and the tourism sector is the first interested in protecting the landscape and territory of Lanzarote. Tour operators do not contract hotels that do not have a quality seal. 

"I am surprised that there is no commitment to energy sovereignty in Lanzarote"

Hoteliers have recycling protocols, we have trained our staff, and we have to demonstrate to tour operators the circularity of suppliers and our waste recycling with our annual sustainability plans. And there is a point where we often fail, and that is in demonstrating that the effort we have made in the establishment has had an impact through public recycling stations. And there are city councils that approve and city councils that do not. 
 

  • What do you miss in the work of the public administrations of Lanzarote to combine tourism and sustainability?

We have an island with a unique nature, which must be preserved, but from which we must also live. It has to be compatible. I am extremely surprised that there is no political and social consensus, that there is no clearer dialogue and that there is no commitment, for example, to energy sovereignty, you cannot want one thing and the opposite. 

If we are committed to sustainability and replacing fossil fuels, we must focus fully on renewable energies. In peak production, Gran Canaria's electricity consumption is already 41% from renewable energies. How is it possible that in Lanzarote we are missing that train? We have to take advantage of European funds, we cannot be left behind. 

 

  • Do you detect stagnation in Lanzarote's politics?

Lanzarote has to make decisions, the island has had a problem of lack of political dialogue and lack of generosity for a long time. We have to start working side by side regardless of political color so that the island is the one that wins. 

We have been pioneers, we have an island that is a jewel. An island in which we have to continue living and do it with dignity. There comes a time when you have to stand up, raise your head, be proud and say we have to do the best tourism we are capable of. 

"The moratoriums only brought hysteria to arrive on time"

We also have to leave home and see who our competitors are, who are very close. We have to go to Cape Verde and see what tourism is being done there. We have to look at the flourishing north coast of Africa, in Morocco and Senegal. We cannot think that this manna of sun and beach climate will feed us spontaneously. Mature areas have to be renovated and above all there has to be a clear regulation and planning of what is going to be done in the next 10 years. 

 

  • According to a recent study by the Cabildo of Lanzarote, the island's carrying capacity has been exceeded in many aspects, are there too many tourist places?

It is not a recent discussion. We have been talking about carrying capacity and the number of hotel places for many years. The limitations have not worked. The moratoriums only brought hysteria to arrive on time, to do many things, they accelerated projects, which probably would have been delayed in time naturally.

And of course, when one has to speak well of one's own and of a product that one wants to sell, what one cannot do is shoot oneself in the foot and say that the island declares itself saturated, because that makes it unattractive.

 

  • Where should measures be taken?

I think the situation is like a puzzle that you have to sit down to compose. I think it is very good that tourism distributes wealth to everyone, but it is also true that the island, in the last five years, has exceeded 7,000 vacation homes with more than 30,000 places scattered throughout the island.

They are not only in Playa Blanca or Puerto del Carmen or Costa Teguise, but you can find them in Los Valles, in Tomaren, or in Soo. There is a regulation, but maybe it needs to be reviewed. It was made at the time for emblematic hotels, and for rural houses. 

"César Manrique would be very proud of the entire network of Tourist Centers and how the people of Lanzarote continue to love this island so much"  

There is a very demanding regulation for tourist establishments and we must avoid news like the one we saw a year ago of a rooftop with tents for tourists, because it hurts us a lot.

Then there is the issue of urban planning, the municipalities cannot have plans from 25 or 30 years ago living on the basis of specific modifications or patches. It is not possible that this planning is so complicated that there is not even time to do it in one or two legislatures.

 

  • Where should the focus be to avoid losing competitiveness compared to other emerging tourist areas?

What we do, let's do it well, let's concentrate on being the best. Let's not be navel-gazers and think that we have everything done because of the climate and the beauty of the beaches. We must have establishments that meet the expectations of the client. 

We have to go for excellence. I think we have a great gastronomy. I think excellent work is being done. Let's focus on working very well in the tourism sector without complexes, without demonizing it. Stop to think and see where you can grow and where you cannot.

"In the province we have one of the best labor agreements in the country for the hotel industry" 

There are mature areas in which you can think about what you have to maintain and maybe there are things that you have to demolish and redo in another way. We have to ask the public administrations for responsibility and agility, and a red carpet for investment in modernization, reform and complementary activities. Also to be a more attractive and fun destination, we have a great senior tourism, but we perhaps fail to make the new generations fall in love.  



What do you think César Manrique would be most proud of what has happened in Lanzarote in the last 30 years and what would he be most upset about?

I think he would be very proud of all the network of Tourist Centers and how the people of Lanzarote continue to love this island so much.  

Surely he would not be at all proud of the fruitless discussions that lead to nothing, and of those projects that have nothing to do with our idiosyncrasy and our aesthetics, which are very free, of course, to be done, but it is a pity that this homogenization of color and design on the island is lost.

He perhaps would have wanted an island for a few or for fewer, with much more quality, but the reality, globalization, the ability to transport yourself in four hours on a direct plane has made not only Lanzarote but all of the Canary Islands closer. I think César would have adapted, but he would have been vigilant and commenting on many things.

 

  • Some young people from Lanzarote have the perception that employment in tourism is precarious and poorly paid, what would you say to them?

It is not true that working in tourism and in the hotel industry is poorly paid or has worse conditions. In fact, you can earn better than in other sectors. In the province of Las Palmas we have one of the best labor agreements in the country in terms of salary scales.

Tourism offers many professional opportunities. There are many young people who start in the hotel industry in a basic position and make a career. Most companies offer professional careers. We have many directors and advisors who started as reception assistants.

Now, what I think is essential is to train, especially in languages, to be competent and competitive with many other people who come to the island and who speak two and three languages.



 

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