The Cabildo agreed to award the Isla de Lanzarote 2012 prize to the British airline Jet2.com and its tour operator Jet2holidays. The jury made this decision after a meeting at the headquarters of Turismo Lanzarote, on Triana Street.
In the opinion of the jury, this airline company is worthy of the highest distinction and the greatest recognition due to "the firm commitment it has made to increase the island's connectivity with the United Kingdom." A reflection of this commitment is the increase in flights it is making with Lanzarote each season.
Currently, Jet2.com, the airline division of this tourism group, has seven routes planned with the Lanzarote airport of Guacimeta for 2013 from different British airports. It should also be noted that this company moved 16,535 passengers to and from Lanzarote during the past month of August, which represents an increase of 56.89 percent compared to the same period in 2011, with an occupancy rate of its flights of 98.14 percent, the highest of all companies. This group created its own tour operator, Jet2 holidays, a few years ago.
Distinguished Tourism Figures
Similarly, the jury agreed to award the 2012 Distinguished Tourism Awards to Sands Beach Resort, in the Company category; to the White Night of Teguise, in the Event category, and to Los Diabletes, as a Personality.
Sands Beach Resort has earned this award for "its trajectory in the specialization of the sports product, its contribution in terms of the promotion and positioning of Lanzarote abroad, and for its contribution to improving the competitiveness of the destination and quality." This company also sponsors different local athletes in their national and international competitions.
For its part, the White Night of Teguise has distinguished itself as "one of the most significant events of the year from a tourist point of view." The White Night of Teguise was born with the intention of breaking the routine to enjoy a different night in an emblematic environment such as the Historic Center of the Villa de Teguise.
Los Diabletes "are the most beautiful image of a popular tradition, a mixture of aboriginal beliefs with Castilian elements and witchcraft connections born since the end of the 15th century, when the first Moorish and black slaves arrived in La Villa," according to the jury. Considered one of the oldest traditions in the Canary Islands, it is currently the most characteristic exponent of the Teguise Carnivals. "They are the best way to show tourists and visitors some of our rich popular traditions."
Special mentions
In addition to the aforementioned awards, the jury of the World Tourism Day awards wanted to distinguish with a special mention the figures of European Sports Destination and Saborea Lanzarote, Domingo Brito and Ricardo Ramos.
European Sports Destination and Saborea Lanzarote are "two innovative proposals with which Turismo Lanzarote wants to develop a powerful and attractive tourism product in order to give greater depth to Lanzarote's offer."
Domingo Brito has earned this special mention posthumously. Brito was one of the most famous and charismatic members of the Lanzarote Carnival family. Each year he exhibited original dresses made with products from the countryside, arousing both interest and admiration among the thousands of participants in the carnival. Deceased in 2011, "with Domingo Brito a part of the traditional flavor of the Lanzarote carnivals left," according to the jury.
Ricardo Ramos, for his part, obtains this mention as a result of his vocation in service and customer service that have distinguished him in the 40 years that he has been part of the staff of the Hotel San Antonio, in Puerto del Carmen.
The Isla de Lanzarote and Distinguished Tourism 2012 awards will be presented during the institutional event with which the Cabildo de Lanzarote will celebrate World Tourism Day, which will take place next Tuesday, September 25, at 8:00 p.m., in the assembly hall of the Cabildo de Lanzarote.
