The pandemic undoubtedly leaves a state of collective anxiety, with a very difficult situation for many people who have seen their work prospects broken and for companies of all kinds affected by confinement and trade and demand restrictions.
Faced with this traumatic experience that we have experienced during the last year, it is almost an obligation to look for new areas of opportunity that allow us to emerge from the shock. As Franklin D. Roosevelt said in his inaugural address to the American presidency in the years of the Great Depression, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
This is how Lanzarote must face an economic situation battered by its excessive dependence on tourism. The lack of impetus for other economic activities and the erroneous commitment to growth in beds in recent decades, to the detriment of the added value of the destination, have only exacerbated the metabolic failure of the Lanzarote economy. But, although the pandemic has been the enormous drop that overflowed the glass, these ills came from long ago.
As the recent report by economists commissioned by the Cabildo de Lanzarote points out, "Since 2000, the number of hotel places on the island has doubled... In 2018, with historical levels of tourists, the Canary Islands had an unemployment rate above 20%, double that in 2007..."
Geographic isolation and the absence of levers to promote innovation and entrepreneurship have been key handicaps that have prevented the creation of new areas of economic diversification. But the pandemic aftermath leaves some very clear opportunities for the island economy.
The first is, without a doubt, the effect that the intensive digitization process experienced in the last year by individuals and companies has against geographic isolation. This means that the island is suddenly an ideal terrain for technology workers. It is the even more interesting face of digital nomads. Suddenly, young people from Lanzarote with technological skills have the opportunity to access remote jobs with high added value. A new horizon that opens new paths beyond the meager job opportunities that the local labor market offered until now.
The possibility that someone can create a company with a digital component from the island, either by local citizens or companies or with the arrival of new residents, also emerges with more viability than ever. To do this, it will be essential to create training, knowledge and support ecosystems for those who dare to embark on entrepreneurial projects.
Another area of opportunity is that of sustainable development. The commitment to renewable energies, both through the photovoltaic implementation in companies and homes, as well as the undoubted island potential for floating offshore wind energy, is even more essential with the possibility of access to European recovery funds. Sustainable mobility can also achieve a double objective of reducing the carbon footprint and boosting the punished automotive segment.
Finally, some green shoots are glimpsed in the field of business associations, which until recently was a wasteland of ideas and proposals. The growing activity of the Chamber of Commerce and its recent commitment to a pact for the landscape, as well as the rebirth of a Business Circle with new proposals and ambitions are essential to contribute to an adequate climate that enables a collective effort for a new economic panorama for Lanzarote.
