The president of the Cabildo has come out to respond with an opinion article to the "false controversy" that has been generated about British tourism as a result of statements made by María Dolores Corujo in Fitur that have been "distorted."
"You can't clarify something that hasn't been said. It is absolutely false that on the island of Lanzarote we do not want British tourism or that we want to reduce its number. So I will say it only once and with total forcefulness: British tourism has always been, is and will be welcome in Lanzarote.
In Lanzarote we are also fortunate to have an excellent British community that has resided here for a long time, a community that is sensitive to the environment and involved in the care and defense of sustainable development for our island. We share our island character with the British and that makes it very easy to understand the existence of limits in an island territory, fragile and small like ours.
That said, I am saddened by the false controversy that has been unleashed around British tourism and that has been fueled by misinformation. Some have taken out of context and others have intentionally distorted the assessment I made about the future of the tourism sector on the island upon my return from the International Tourism Fair in Madrid. I feel obliged to remember that here, in Lanzarote, the controversy has been encouraged by a media outlet that is owned by a hotel businessman with a court order for demolition on one of his establishments.
Having said the above, all tourist destinations go to fairs to show their attractions and attract new markets to diversify the tourism they receive. Lanzarote has also been doing this for years because common sense and the basic laws of economics advise us not to depend on a single issuing country, especially in times of uncertainty such as those we are experiencing derived from the war in Ukraine. But that does not mean that we do not want those who visit us the most, the British tourists, but quite the opposite.
Having clarified the above, what the Cabildo of Lanzarote and I as president have said and defend is that we cannot continue to grow in tourist beds, since the island's tourist carrying capacity is exhausted. This is not new, since this same thing was already considered by the Cabildo itself in 2003 and is something that the vast majority of the population and business community share.
Betting on increasing the beds is going to a massification of the destination that not only worsens the quality of life of the residents, but the tourist's own experience. For this reason, we want to officially declare the island's tourist carrying capacity exhausted and, at the same time, bet on a rational and lasting development based on quality and on the elements that differentiate us as a unique tourist destination in the world. Our public network of Art, Culture and Tourism Centers serves as an example of this.
Therefore, you cannot confuse 'tourism development' with 'increase in tourist beds'. Lanzarote receives more than 3 million tourists a year and does not need more accommodation places, but rather to orient tourism development towards a qualitative and innovative growth of the complementary leisure offer that incorporates new products and experiences for tourists, all of them respectful with the environment."
María Dolores Corujo Berriel, president of the Cabildo de Lanzarote
