The Canary Islands president, Fernando Clavijo, seized Fitur International Tourism Fair to issue a call for collaboration aimed at expanding the benefits of tourism for the archipelago while curbing its downsides. He argued that public-private cooperation will be essential to address the structural and emerging challenges facing the tourism sector, insisting that urgent responses are needed.
In his opening remarks at the Canary Islands stand, Clavijo underscored the regional government’s clear, strategic commitment to this issue. Stop counting tourists, he said, and instead harness tourism’s advantages. The plan envisions the economy’s locomotive role expanding revenue and driving growth across the archipelago. It positions tourism as a motor that fuels the rest of the economy, including farming and industry, so that all sectors rise together.
The Canary Islands president also pledged that tourism’s benefits would extend to promote sustainability, innovation, and knowledge across the archipelago, contributing to broader economic diversification for the region.
Clavijo believes this approach will bolster the Canaries’ international standing. Our global leadership extends beyond visitor numbers, he stated, highlighting the ability to adapt to new trends. Leaders who diversify offerings and engage the entire island community by leveraging tourism’s core engine.
Twelve million seats planned for summer
The president outlined expectations at the opening of the Canary Islands stand in Fitur, calling it a strong bet for European markets and air services that will connect the archipelago with twelve million seats this summer. That marks a 9 percent rise over summer 2023 and a 21 percent rise compared with pre-pandemic levels, with more than two million seats added.
Winter air capacity continues to grow, approaching ten million seats for the season, a 9.6 percent increase against the previous winter and a 36 percent rise from the pre-epidemic period. Clavijo noted that these connectivity gains reinforce the idea that 2024 could be a record year for tourism turnover if experiences are designed to meet evolving visitor demands, and he expressed confidence that industry professionals will rise to the challenge.
Reflecting on 2023, he recalled an influx of tourists that surpassed 16 million, representing an 11 percent rise from 2022. The focus, he added, is not merely counting visitors but appreciating the value they bring to the archipelago. He highlighted a revenue peak reaching 20 billion euros, a 31.7 percent increase since 2019.
The archipelago’s economic engine is expected to remain strong, even as the macroeconomic backdrop includes a slowdown, inflation, and higher interest rates driven by ongoing global tensions. Canary Islanders enjoy advantages stemming from European citizenship, and the priority remains to offer diverse experiences as travel demand grows, the president observed.
Emerging markets
During his remarks, Clavijo stressed that major outbound markets continue to perform well. He noted that presenting the Canary Islands at Fitur signaled a strong rebound in international tourism in 2023, with year-to-date figures through November showing a 13 percent rise over 2022 and a 6 percent rise over 2019. The United Kingdom led with about a 14 percent increase, followed by Ireland, France, and Italy with solid gains.
Air capacity from the UK to the Canary Islands rose sharply, totaling 3.9 million seats, a ten percent increase from the previous summer. This reinforces the UK as the main market, with its share of the islands approaching 35 percent for the summer season, he noted.
Germany’s air connectivity also began to improve for the first time since the pandemic, with a 13.1 percent rise in winter and a 0.8 percent rise in summer, though levels have not yet returned to 2019. Jessica de León, minister of Tourism and Employment, pointed out growing connectivity with the peninsula, highlighting a 13.6 percent increase in summer locations and a network reaching 25 airports with 3.9 million seats across 111 regular routes.
The emphasis remained on expanding both national and international ties to support sustained tourism growth while maintaining regional resilience against global economic pressures.
Kings open Fitur in support of regional leadership
At Fitur, the Canary Islands presented a robust agenda. The delegation included a sizable presence of 352 companies, up from 27, and 1,172 accredited Canarian tourism agencies, up by 400, reflecting a 51 percent increase. The stand demonstrated strong communication potential through high design quality and an innovative approach, expanding by 120 square meters to accommodate council presentations and a larger media area for coverage.
Despite the increased footprint, the stand managed to cut its carbon footprint per square meter by seven percent, with eighty percent of materials reusable and over ninety percent recyclable. A digital app again provided detailed information about tourism resources across the eight islands, reducing paper use.
The president used the platform to meet with key ministers and industry leaders to discuss market dynamics and strategy, and he visited the Fiturtech pavilion, a hub for technology and innovation in tourism. For the first time, two Canarian startups, MaarLab and AdQuiver, led sessions in one of Spain’s premier tourism innovation forums. This underscored the region’s commitment to exporting tourism knowledge as a driver of sustainable economic development.