The mayor of Yaiza, Óscar Noda, is "more than surprised" by the information published this Wednesday, October 9, on the maritime portal puentedemando.com, which, in a news item signed by Juan Carlos Díaz Lorenzo, assures that the public business entity Puertos Canarios “has submitted its request to withdraw from Medcruise (The Association of Mediterranean Cruise Ports), who in turn has already communicated it to the Board of Directors.” Given this fact, Yaiza is already asking Puertos Canarios management and the Government of the Canary Islands for public explanations, and will also do so formally in the Advisory Council of Puertos Canarios, where the mayor participates, understanding that, if the news is confirmed, “it is a decision that leaves Playa Blanca out of the market and therefore seriously threatens the economic interests of Playa Blanca, Yaiza and Lanzarote.”
Óscar Noda asks: “Where is the president of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort, who raised the flag of defending all the possibilities of exploiting our port, and where are the parliamentarians of Lanzarote, including the president himself?”. The portal that reveals the information highlights that the decision “implies that there will be no tourist cruises in the ports of Vueltas (La Gomera), Tazacorte (La Palma), Gran Tarajal (Fuerteventura) and Playa Blanca (Lanzarote). Only in the port of the south of La Gomera, each season received between 15 and 20 ships that generated an additional local economy, in addition to the income from pilotage, mooring and consignment.”
The portal adds that “this decision also implies a loss of specific weight for the Canary Islands in Medcruise and, in addition, for the entire attractiveness of Macaronesia.” MedCruise is the association of cruise ports in the Mediterranean that brings together the 57 main enclaves on the European-African coast.
Yaiza's constant struggle
There have been many times that the Yaiza City Council, this and the past legislature, has fought before political parties inside and outside the Island to achieve the docking of medium-sized or boutique-type cruises in the new port of Playa Blanca, an infrastructure that cost more than 40 million euros and that Yaiza understands must be made profitable to its maximum expression, especially because there is evidence of the interest of tour operators in docking in the south of Lanzarote.
Since the port expansion project was agreed upon, “it was clear that the port would not only improve the maritime connectivity of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, the safety of operations of the ships that connect the two islands and the safety of fishing and sports boats with the reorganization of spaces and uses, but that the port would open its doors to cruise tourism with the new 300-meter-long dike and its draft conditions. I hope that politicians from Lanzarote are not playing games with us,” concludes the mayor, who has already begun to investigate to adopt all possible actions.
