Given the imminent arrival of the Christmas holidays and the foreseeable increase in demand, the Lanzarote Tourist Federation (FTL) has reiterated its concern about the lack of taxis on the island, especially at the airport and in the areas with the highest tourist influx.
“We cannot allow the lack of taxis to tarnish the experience of the tourists who visit us, or to harm the residents themselves. Imagine families with young boys and girls waiting at the airport for a taxi that never arrives, after 3 or 4 hours of flight", said the president of the FTL and Asolan, Susana Pérez.
The FTL explained that it has been receiving complaints from both hotels and restaurants, "especially in the municipality of Yaiza, which is already experiencing difficulties during weekends, with customers suffering long waits to get a taxi or even canceling reservations because they cannot get a taxi to get to the restaurant."
The Federation denounces that this situation, "aggravated during the recent holiday bridge, threatens to repeat and intensify during Christmas, negatively impacting the image of Lanzarote as a destination and the local economy, especially in the hotel, restaurant, shops and leisure establishments."
To avoid the collapse of the service and long waits, the FTL has sent a letter to the Department of Transport of the Cabildo of Lanzarote asking it to adopt measures to guarantee a smooth taxi service for both tourists and the local population.
"Residents also increase their mobility during these dates, with trips to and from the airport and especially with company lunches and dinners or meetings of friends and family, in which the use of taxis is frequent and recommended, and that need cannot be neglected", they specify from the Federation.
For this reason, the FTL has once again advocated for the joint provision of the service, to respond to the demand and to "prevent taxis from returning empty after dropping off passengers in other municipalities, which negatively affects not only the service, but also sustainability."
Reinforcement for passport control at the airport
On the other hand, the Federation has announced that, with a view to the upcoming Christmas season, it has also sent a letter to the Sub-delegation of the Government to request a reinforcement of passport controls at the airport of Lanzarote, both on arrivals and departures, given the expected increase in the arrival of British tourists at this time, to avoid the long queues that have already been experienced on other occasions.
The Federation recalls that "at this time, as happened last summer, the arrival of family tourism is especially expected, which makes the process more time-consuming, because the passport control of children under 12 years of age must be done manually", and not through the machines enabled to do so automatically.
The United Kingdom is the main issuing market for Lanzarote, and accounts for 50% of the passengers arriving on the island.
