The Minister of Tourism and Employment of the Regional Government, Jessica de León, stated in the plenary session of the Parliament of the Canary Islands that tourism "must be sustainable or it will not be", because that is what customers demand.
This is one of the conclusions that the Canary delegation obtained from its participation in the World Travel Market in London, held in early November, an event that has been a success and shows that British tourism, the most important in the Canary Islands, continues to grow despite the economic situation, the Minister explained in a parliamentary appearance.
De León stressed that the Government of the Canary Islands assumes tourism "as a transversal policy" because "tourism will be sustainable or it will not be, it will not be profitable, it will not be able to raise prices, it would have to lower them".
When talking about sustainability, she warned, "good intentions are no longer enough, nor is the pin on the lapel".
In their meetings with the operators, the Canary delegation found that they demand that their clients "live more sustainable experiences, more 'eco friendly' and fewer CO2 emissions in hotels".
Paradigm shift
According to the Minister, there is "a paradigm shift" around tourism, because the tourist is no longer the main client, but the resident, so that tourism is "a tool" whose purpose is to "improve the lives of the people of the Canary Islands".
Therefore, she continued, the challenge now is to observe and measure well its impact on the resident population, on the quality of employment, on housing, on emissions, on mobility, its environmental impact, energy expenditure, water consumption and waste regeneration.
On this last aspect, the Minister urged the town councils to reward with their municipal taxes the companies that strive to generate less waste, because it is not fair that they pay the same as those that pollute the most.
British tourism continues to increase
Regarding the London tourism fair, she highlighted its importance for the islands because the British market is the main source of tourists for the Canary Islands, the only Spanish region in which the number of visitors and spending has been exceeded since 2019.
British tourism "still shows no signs of weakening" after the Canary Islands has managed to "circumvent" Brexit, the fall of Thomas Cook, the pandemic, the crisis in Ukraine, inflation, high interest rates and the devaluation of the pound.
"Not only have we improved, but we have exceeded all expectations", the British have not reduced their tourist spending, as was feared, she stated.
For the Minister, the unknown now is "how much longer will we last" from the time the emission rights in air transport come into force on January 1.
