Lanzarote began its participation in the World Travel Market in London with a clear focus on strengthening the relationship with the British market, focusing its efforts on attracting high-quality tourism with greater spending capacity.
The day began at ExCeL London with the inauguration of the Canary Islands stand and an emotional minute of silence led by the Minister of Tourism, Jéssica de León, in homage to the victims of the Valencian community, a gesture that reflects the solidarity of the Canary Islands in these difficult times for Spain.
The president and Minister of Tourism of Lanzarote, Oswaldo Betancort, despite not being able to attend this edition, joined in these expressions of condolence that occurred at various times on the first day of the fair, and also highlighted the relevance of maintaining socioeconomic stability for the island in a post-Brexit context.
“We appreciate the loyalty of the British operators and we are committed to maintaining this privileged relationship in the long term”, commented Betancort, who expressed from Lanzarote his support for the Lanzarote Tourism delegation and the public representatives of the island at the WTM, such as the vice president Jacobo Medina, to whom he has entrusted the task of advancing in this mission, while he manages the humanitarian emergency that Lanzarote is going through due to the migratory crisis that currently affects the island.
One of the key meetings of the day was the meeting with representatives of British Airways, in which new opportunities were explored to attract British tourism with greater purchasing power, in line with Lanzarote's strategic vision.
For his part, the CEO of SPEL-Turismo Lanzarote, Héctor Fernández, positively valued this first day of the fair, underlining the importance of the WTM to consolidate commercial relations with the United Kingdom, the most relevant tourist market for the island. “The British market continues to show an upward trend in the emission of tourists to Lanzarote. It is essential to maintain and strengthen this connection for the upcoming seasons, which represents great news for the island's economy”, Fernández pointed out.