That is the question that runs through many tourist intelligence offices of the main companies in the sector these days, as many Spanish families shorten and delay their trips or opt for cheaper destinations.
It is expected that this year 100 million foreign tourists will be reached in Spain. International bookings to our country have increased by 23% for the summer, while national bookings have plummeted by 17%, according to a study by the Destinia travel agency.
Spain couldn't be more fashionable. As demand and prices rise in our tourism sector, part of national tourism is displaced and replaced by international travelers with greater purchasing power.
Lanzarote already anticipated this trend last year, when it experienced a sharp drop in national tourism, 25% less in July compared to the previous year. That month, just over 25,000 people arrived from the peninsula.
Compared to 2019, the drop is 33%. At that time, more than 40,000 national tourists landed in both July and August.
There are more signs that prove the decline. French tourism to Lanzarote has surpassed Spanish tourism in the first four months of the year, so that France, for the moment, joins the United Kingdom, Germany and Ireland as countries that send more tourists to Lanzarote than the rest of Spain.
Flights with "exorbitant" prices
The president of the island's Tourism Federation, Susana Pérez, who then described the fall in national tourism as "precipitous" still believes that the main reason, in the case of the island, is the growing cost of flights.
"In 2022 and 2023 there was a large increase in flights and competitive prices, but in 2024 we saw an absolute change in trend with much higher prices, which continues," describes Pérez.
"It is true that there are more places to some airports such as Malaga or Seville, but they have fallen in the most important airports, especially Madrid and Barcelona and we have seen exorbitant prices," she adds.
The president of the Lanzarote Tourism Federation believes that the entry of a new airline actor could alleviate the situation.
That actor could be Binter, which has already announced its intention to provide direct flights to Madrid also from Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and La Palma, although without a specific date yet.
Lanzarote hotel rooms generate 50% more revenue than in 2019
Pérez acknowledges that Lanzarote hotels have also increased their prices, among other things due to the improvement investments carried out during the pandemic and that they are orienting themselves towards a public with greater purchasing power. "Lanzarote no longer competes on (low) price."
"Lanzarote is one of the destinations where the most has been invested in modernization and renovation, not only of the accommodation plant but also of other facilities, and in the development of tourist experiences. We have generated value, which translates into price," explains Pérez.
In fact, Lanzarote is one of the destinations with the highest hotel profitability since the pandemic. Between 2019 and 2024, Lanzarote hotel rooms generated a revenue increase of 50.9% to reach 118.48 euros per room, according to a study by Exceltur, an association that brings together the country's largest hoteliers.
The president of the Tourism Federation also highlights the importance of information campaigns during the winter so that potential customers make reservations as soon as possible and thus benefit from better prices.
A week in the Caribbean costs little more than in Lanzarote
Perez also attributes part of the phenomenon to "the insecurity in certain tourist areas of the eastern Mediterranean and the Near East such as Turkey or Egypt" has attracted more tourism to Spain, and to the Canary Islands in particular, which has increased demand and, therefore, prices.
Precisely some of those countries that have lowered prices to counteract their security problems, such as Turkey or Egypt, are attracting Spaniards who have a budget for a certain type of vacation, which is no longer so easily accommodated in Spain.
And not only that, but interest is also growing among Spaniards for cheaper destinations closer to home such as Albania, Bulgaria, Romania or further afield, such as the Caribbean, where tourist figures have not recovered since the pandemic and where they have lowered tourist packages, while prices have risen in Spain.
At the moment there are tourist packages to Lanzarote from the peninsula, which have very similar prices to those offered in the Caribbean, despite the long flights that the latter include.
By way of illustration, the Logitravel travel agency currently offers two packages on its website to four-star hotels in Lanzarote for 786 and 765 euros respectively. Both include seven nights, with accommodation, full board, transfers and flights from Madrid.
The same agency offers two packages to the Mexican State of Quintana Roo, where Cancun is located, to 4 and 5 star hotels, also with all inclusive and flights from Madrid to 886 and 952 respectively, for nine days and seven nights.
