The Board of Directors of the Centers for Art, Culture and Tourism has given the green light this Thursday to the increase in ticket prices for the Centers for Art, Culture and Tourism, which will come into effect in two weeks, on January 1, 2024.
From that day on, non-residents will pay 20 euros to access the Fire Mountains; 15 euros to visit Jameos del Agua and Cueva de los Verdes, eight euros for the Mirador del Río and the Cactus Garden, and five euros for the MIAC-Castillo de San José. In addition, a ticket to the new House of Volcanoes is incorporated, which, for non-residents, will have a value of five euros.
Accompanied by the Entity's Management Committee, the Entity's CEO, Ángel Vázquez, endorsed an initiative “aligned with the global tourism industry, which has raised the price of all its services to compensate for the increase in production costs that is affecting us all. The adjustment of rates equates us and makes us more competitive compared to other destinations”, he insisted.
Thus, the CEO of the Centers for Art, Culture and Tourism (CACT), Ángel Vázquez, spoke this Thursday before the microphones of Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero to settle the controversy with the Lanzarote Tourism Federation over the increase in the price of tickets.
"The powers that I have as CEO are mine, exclusively mine, so I will make those decisions", began an angry Ángel Vázquez, with the aim of defending his position of raising access fees to these spaces by 60%.
"Let that be clear. No one can impose on me, on the contrary, I could impose because I have the majority", Vázquez added.
"It is more expensive to go to McDonald's than to go to the Fire Mountains", Vázquez questioned in the face of criticism from employers. In this line, he has indicated that he can make the decisions that his position allows him without reaching a consensus, but that he met with the Management Committee and managed the increase in the price of tickets with the technicians, because it is "his way of working."
Extend tickets already sold
Vázquez defended that he presented live data from reports that supported the increase in rates at the Tourist Centers. In addition, he explained that he met a month and a half ago with the president of the Association of Travel Agencies, and the vice president as well as representatives of the Tourist Federation to agree on this increase in rates.
The CEO added that the concern of the Federation and travel agencies was the tickets already sold at 2023 prices, which did not include the increase. "It is absurd to say that we have sold six more months. Well, you are responsible because knowing that they only last three more months, why do you sell six months? That is your risk, not the CACT's", he defended in the morning show Buenos días, Lanzarote.
Despite this, the Centers assure that they offered the agencies the option of making a transitional provision to extend the term until the beginning of June for tickets already purchased and that then, "they applauded that measure." Thus, the Board of Directors approved this Thursday to incorporate this transitional provision that will allow extending until June 2024 the validity of tickets purchased before the winter season of 2022, that is, from November 2022 to April 2023; the annual increase in rates by the value of the CPI, and initiate the search for mechanisms and instruments that allow the improvement of the customer experience.
"I work with my fiscal year, I don't work from May to May. I don't have to adapt to other needs but to mine", Ángel Vázquez responded in the morning show Buenos días, Lanzarote to the request of the president of the Lanzarote Tourist Federation, Susana Pérez, to make a total increase from May 1 of next year.
More benefits with the rate increase
The counselor reiterated that the adjustment of rates “gives fair value to Tourist Centers that are differentiating elements of the destination and generators of wealth for the people of Lanzarote. This increase” he explained, “will mean a greater benefit for the island's society through the fees to the different institutions and our Social Work”.
Vázquez also pointed out that the new rates will contribute to “reducing the impact of the human footprint on the work of César Manrique, which will allow us to improve the quality of the visiting experience and, by extension, generate a greater number of prescribers of the destination. It is about preserving in the present to enjoy in the future”.
To conclude, the counselor wanted to thank the workers for their support for the proposal of new rates. “They, better than anyone, know the real value of these jewels.”
The new visit rates can be consulted on the web cactlanzarote.com
