The president of the Lanzarote Tourism Federation, Susana Pérez, and other representatives of the Lanzarote employers' association held a meeting this Monday with the sub-delegate of the Government in the province of Las Palmas, María Teresa Mayans Vázquez, to convey the main concerns of the sector.
The meeting, held at the Insular Directorate of the State Administration in Lanzarote, was requested by the Tourism Federation as a result of the problems that have been registered in passport control at the César Manrique airport.
Along with her, the president of the Association of Discretionary Passenger Transport (ASTRATUR), Esther Cabrera, and the vice president of the Association of Travel Agencies and Tour Operators of Lanzarote, Lena Olsson, attended the meeting. Also present at the meeting were the insular director of the State Administration in Lanzarote, Pedro Viera, and the director of the César Manrique airport, María Teresa Cuenca.
"We have shared the need to increase the allocation of personnel for passport control, adapting it to the volume of passengers that the island receives. 50% of international tourists arriving in Lanzarote are British and a collapse is occurring that very negatively affects their travel experience and harms the image of the island. In addition, the airport requires an expansion of terminals that facilitates these control processes, both in departures and arrivals, as well as providing more space to the departure area for an International Control post," said Susana Pérez.
For her part, the sub-delegate of the Government has highlighted that the staff of the National Police has increased by 25% in Lanzarote since 2017, and has announced that the island will continue to be provided with more police officers.
Regarding the airport, the director explained that five years ago, after Brexit, a single entry space was enabled for passport control, which allowed to gain space and improve the process; and that they are currently working on dimensioning and providing the necessary resources for entry and exit control, enabling 40 check-in machines.
Precisely, the president of the FTL had also asked how the airport is preparing for the entry into force of the new entry and exit control of the European Union (EU - EES System), which is scheduled for November, and which will involve a new registration and control for non-EU passengers, which could worsen the situation by taking more time and more possible waits.
In this regard, the director of the airport has explained that they have created a working group to include improvements, especially in the departures area, which is where she has indicated that more human resources are being allocated. In addition, the sub-delegate of the Government has asked, as far as possible, for the collaboration of tour operators, so that flights are not concentrated on the same days or at least the hours are more spaced out.
During the meeting, the president of the FTL also conveyed her concern about the entry into force of the new traveler registration in tourist accommodations, travel agencies and rent a car companies, which has not been developed in detail or adapted to the realities of the tourism sector, which generates enormous legal uncertainty and an overload of work that makes its compliance impossible.
Finally, on behalf of the Nautical Tourism association (Canarinautic), which is a member of the FTL, Susana Pérez has exposed the problems that are being generated by the closure of the only Merchant Marine Captaincy office in Arrecife, which has not reopened its doors since the pandemic. "They have eliminated face-to-face attention and only online procedures and management can be done, which is a significant detriment to the nautical tourism sector, since entrepreneurs are being forced to move to Gran Canaria or Tenerife for certain boat procedures," she said.
Therefore, the employers' association has asked that the office recover face-to-face attention and reopen its doors every day, or at least on alternate days, given the importance of this sector on the island.
On this point, the sub-delegate of the Government has explained that the reason for the closure is due to the lack of civil servants, but has announced that there is currently a position open to incorporate a person into said office.
The meeting concluded by highlighting the importance of coordination between all parties to improve transit through the airport and the passenger experience, and they have agreed to a new meeting to follow up on the upcoming implementation of the entry control system in the European Union.
