Tourism in the Canary Islands

Last updated

Tourism in the Canary Islands [1] [2]
YearArrivals
202316,000,000. [3]
2009
(Jan, Feb)		1,530,267
20089,210,509
20079,326,116
20069,530,039
20059,276,963
20049,427,265
20039,836,785
20029,778,512
200110,137,202
20009,975,977
19947,569,096
19936,545,396
19904,872,849
19853,735,735
19802,522,619
19752,011,000
1970821,000
1965316,500
196069,000
CountryPopulation
(2008 total)
Germany2,498,847
Great Britain3,355,942

Tourism is an essential part of the economy of the Canary Islands, [4] a Spanish archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean, 100 kilometres (62 miles) west of Morocco. Seven main islands and six islets make up the Canary Islands. They had 16 million visitors in 2023. [5] Tourists seeking sunshine and beaches first began to visit the Canaries in large numbers in the 1960s. The Canary Islands are a leading European tourist destination with very attractive natural and cultural resources. [6] [7]

Contents

Nationalities

By nationalities that visit the Canary Islands, the destinations preferred by the British are Tenerife and Lanzarote, capturing 46.7% and 25% of their arrivals respectively; the Germans are distributed in a balanced way between Fuerteventura (29.8%), Gran Canaria (28.9%) and Tenerife (26.1%); Nordic people mostly choose Gran Canaria (58.7%) and Spaniards Tenerife (46%). [8]

The Canary Islands continue to receive tourists from traditional markets and is experiencing the emergence of visitors from other countries such as Italy, France and Poland. [9] For Italian tourists, Tenerife is the main destination (42.49%), followed by Fuerteventura (22.21%), Gran Canaria (18.78%) and Lanzarote (16.51%). [10] The French choose Tenerife in first place with 35.0%, followed by Fuerteventura (30.9%), Lanzarote (20.1%), Gran Canaria (13.3%) and La Palma (0.7%). [11] Polish tourists are divided between; Tenerife (38.8%), Fuerteventura (26.7%), Gran Canaria (21.9%), Lanzarote (11.9%) and La Palma (0.7%). [12]

In absolute numbers, Tenerife lead the ranking of tourists, with 5,928,000 and Gran Canaria with 4,478,000.[ citation needed ]

Statistics

Number of tourists who visited the Canary Islands in 2016, per destination island (in thousands): [13]

Tourist attractions

The Canary Islands have 257 kilometres of beaches. [14] Despite the relatively small area of the seven main islands (7,447 km2), they have very diverse landscapes, including long sandy beaches, spectacular cliffs, deserts, and woods. Pico del Teide is the highest mountain in Spain, with a height of 3,718 m, is located on Tenerife. [4] They have four national parks, seven biosphere reserves (Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Gomera, El Hierro, La Palma and Macizo de Anaga in Tenerife), and more than 140 other protected areas. [14] Visitors in the national parks are not permitted to leave defined paths or to camp in the parks. [4]

Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. The island of Tenerife receives about 5 million tourists each year, making it the most popular island for tourists. [15] Tourist attractions here include nightlife, walking, and whale-and bird-watching. [4] Loro Parque (meaning "Parrot Park" [16] ) on Tenerife has a collection of 3,000 parrots. [4] However, most of these parrots cannot be seen by visitors. There is another facility south of the main park where approximately 330 parrots species are kept and a breeding program takes place. Other attractions in the park include alligators, gorillas, chimpanzees, jaguars, penguins, porpoises, Killer Whales, sharks, and tigers. [16] San Cristóbal de La Laguna is a World Heritage Site. Tenerife also has the highest elevation of Spain, a World Heritage Site that is the third largest volcano in the world from its base, El Teide. [17] Teide is the most visited national park in Spain, with a total of 2.8 million visitors, according to the Instituto Canario de Estadística (ISTAC), and it is one of the most visited National Parks in the world. [18] [19]

Gran Canaria has the biggest city in the Canary Islands, Las Palmas. Gran Canaria receives approximately 4 million tourists every year. Maspalomas is one of the most famous tourist attractions. This island is considered to have the best weather in the Canary Islands and some of the best beaches of Europe (Playa del Ingles, Playa de Las Canteras, etc.). Gran Canaria has near 50% of its territory declared an UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. This island is usually called "a continent in miniature" because of the diversity of its landscapes.

Lanzarote, the most northeasterly of the Canary Islands, has been designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. It has an arid volcanic landscape and there are about 300 volcanic cones on the island. The island has a low-key approach to tourism and the traditional architecture of island's interior are taken into consideration. This approach was influenced by the artist César Manrique, who was from Lanzarote. [4] Manrique created works in Lanzarote and the other islands, [4] including Jardin de Cactus, an amphitheatre-shaped garden with ten thousand cacti and stone sculptures. A 26-foot-high (7.9 m) cactus sculpted from metal by Manrique is located by the entrance to the garden. [20]

In late 2009 the Canary Islands Tourist Board launched a marketing campaign called "Operation No Winter Blues". 100 Canarian residents aged between 18 and 35 were selected to be ambassadors for the Islands. The campaign is based on the original name of the Fortunate Islands, with the ambassadors sharing the islands' good fortune with selected countries. The campaign involves the 100 citizens traveling to 14 European destinations spreading positive news about the Canaries and lasted until mid December.

The Canary Islands are an excellent place for astronomical observation. The trade winds blowing from the North leave the South of the high-relief islands clear and windless. [21] These islands also benefit from low light pollution. For these reasons, four of the seven main islands have been recognized as a Starlight Destination by the UNESCO. [21]

Overtourism

Overtourism occurs when a destination receives too many visitors – a subjective quantity that will vary according to each destination – impacting local people's quality of life, clogging essential services, and increasing house prices beyond the reach of residents. Overtourism can also negatively impact wildlife and the wider environment. [22]

In 2023, the Canary Islands welcomed a record-breaking 16 million visitors, [23] leading campaigners to warn that islands' ecosystems face collapse if numbers are not curbed. The 2023 report from Ben Magec-Ecologists in Action states "Uncontrolled, increase in the non-resident population of European origin, giving rise to completely overcrowded islands in which the generation of waste and the exploitation of resources cause an almost irreversible degradation of our natural ecosystems." [24]

In December 2023, local residents mounted protests against tourism, driven by anger over an increase in housing prices, traffic congestion, and sewage spills due to the increased number of visitors.

In March 2023, Lanzarote's tourism authorities announced that the island was a "tourist-saturated area" and that it would be focusing on attracting tourists that spend more money rather than increasing tourism numbers. [25]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canary Islands</span> Spanish archipelago and region in the Atlantic Ocean

The Canary Islands, also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in Macaronesia in the Atlantic Ocean. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are 100 kilometres west of Morocco and the Western Sahara. They are the southernmost of the autonomous communities of Spain. The islands have a population of 2.2 million people and are the most populous special territory of the European Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuerteventura</span> Canary Island

Fuerteventura is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, geographically part of Macaronesia, and politically part of Spain. It is located 97 km (60 mi) away from the coast of North Africa. The island was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Province of Las Palmas</span> Province of Spain

The Province of Las Palmas is a province of Spain, consisting of the eastern part of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, capital city of this province and of the island of Gran Canaria, is the largest city in the Canary Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tenerife</span> Largest and most populous Canary Island

Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 42.9% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of 2,034.38 square kilometres (785.48 sq mi) and a population of 948,815 inhabitants as of January 2023, it is also the most populous island of Spain and of Macaronesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lanzarote</span> Canary Island

Lanzarote is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, 125 kilometres off the north coast of Africa and 1,000 kilometres from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering 845.92 square kilometres, Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the islands in the archipelago. With 158,798 inhabitants at the start of 2023, it is the third most populous Canary Island, after Tenerife and Gran Canaria. Located in the centre-west of the island is Timanfaya National Park, one of its main attractions. The island was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1993. The island's capital is Arrecife, which lies on the eastern coastline. It is the smaller main island of the Province of Las Palmas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">César Manrique</span> Spanish painter

César Manrique Cabrera was a Spanish artist, sculptor and nature activist from Lanzarote, known particularly for the architectural projects in which he was involved as artistic director in his island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabildo insular</span> Institution charged with local government and administration in Spain

A cabildo insular is the government and administration institution of each of the seven major islands in the Canary Islands archipelago: Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro. The island of La Graciosa falls under the jurisdiction of the cabildo of Lanzarote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of the Canary Islands</span> Autonomous Community flag of the Canary Islands

The flag of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands is a vertical tricolour of three equal bands of white, blue, and yellow. The state flag includes the Coat of arms of the Canary Islands in the central band; the civil flag omits this. The designs were made official by the Statute of Autonomy of the Canarian Autonomous Community on 16 August 1982.

The Canary Islands are an archipelago, or island chain, in the Macaronesia region of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of North Africa. They are one of 17 autonomous communities of Spain. The demographics of the Canary Islands are concentrated in the largest islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canaryfly</span> Spanish airline

Canary Fly, S.L., doing business as Canaryfly, is a Spanish airline that operates regular flights between the Canary Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1995 Canarian regional election</span> 1995 election in the Canary Islands, Spain

The 1995 Canarian regional election was held on Sunday, 28 May 1995, to elect the 4th Parliament of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands. All 60 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1999 Canarian regional election</span>

The 1999 Canarian regional election was held on Sunday, 13 June 1999, to elect the 5th Parliament of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands. All 60 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain, as well as the 1999 European Parliament election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 Canarian regional election</span>

The 2003 Canarian regional election was held on Sunday, 25 May 2003, to elect the 6th Parliament of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands. All 60 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuerteventura (Parliament of the Canary Islands constituency)</span>

Fuerteventura is one of the seven constituencies represented in the Parliament of the Canary Islands, the regional legislature of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands. The constituency currently elects 8 deputies. Its boundaries correspond to those of the island of Fuerteventura. The electoral system uses the D'Hondt method and a closed-list proportional representation, with a minimum threshold of fifteen percent in the constituency or four percent regionally.

As in the rest of Spain, the majority religion in the Canary Islands is the Catholic Church. The Catholic religion has been the majority since the Conquest of the Canary Islands in the fifteenth century. This religion would largely replace the Canarian aboriginal religion through the prohibition of the latter and syncretism. According to a survey conducted in 2019, Canary Islands is the fifth autonomous community in Spain with the highest percentage of people who declare themselves to be Catholics after the Region of Murcia, Extremadura, Galicia, Aragon, and Castile and León. 76.7% of the population is Catholic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geology of the Canary Islands</span>

The geology of the Canary Islands is dominated by volcanic rock. The Canary Islands and some seamounts to the north-east form the Canary Volcanic Province, whose volcanic history started about 70 million years ago. The Canary Islands region is still volcanically active. The most recent volcanic eruption on land occurred in 2021 and the most recent underwater eruption was in 2011-12.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canary Islands dry woodlands and forests</span>

The Canary Islands dry woodlands and forests is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in the Canary Islands. It encompasses the western group of the Canary Islands – La Palma, El Hierro, La Gomera, Tenerife, and Gran Canaria – in the Atlantic Ocean. These volcanic islands are an autonomous community of Spain, and lie southwest of the Spanish mainland and west of the North African coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canarian Football Federation</span>

The Canarian Football Federation is the football association responsible for all competitions of any form of football developed in the Canary Islands. It is integrated into the Royal Spanish Football Federation and its headquarters are located in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

In the run up to the 2023 Spanish local elections, various organisations carry out opinion polling to gauge voting intention in local entities in Spain. Results of such polls for municipalities and island cabildos in the Canary Islands are displayed in this article. The date range for these opinion polls is from the previous local elections, held on 26 May 2019, to the day the next elections will be held, on 28 May 2023.

References

  1. ↑ "Gobiernodecanarias.org Statistics". Gobiernodecanrias.org. Archived from the original on 26 March 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  2. ↑ Tourism Restructuring and the Politics of Sustainability: A Critical View From the European Periphery (The Canary Islands), Raoul V. Bianchi, 2004.
  3. ↑ "Mass Protests In Canary Islands Decry Overtourism". Barrons. Agence France Presse. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Andrews, Sarah, 2004, Canary Islands, Lonely Planet.
  5. ↑ "Mass Protests In Canary Islands Decry Overtourism". Barrons. Agence France Presse. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  6. ↑ Moreno Gil, S. & Brent Ritchie, J. R. 2009. Understanding the museum image formation process: A comparison of residents and tourists. Journal of Travel Research. 47, 4, 480-493.
  7. ↑ S., Moreno Gil; Moreno, Gil, S.; B., Ritchie, J. R. "Understanding the Museum Image Formation Process: A Comparison of Residents and Tourists". Journal of Travel Research. 47. Retrieved 20 August 2017.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ↑ Canarias: así es el perfil del turista que visita las Islas
  9. ↑ La Provincia - Diario de Las Palmas
  10. ↑ La llegada de italianos a Canarias se ha triplicado en la última década
  11. ↑ Perfil del turista francés que viaja a Canarias
  12. ↑ Perfil del turista polaco que viaja a Canarias
  13. ↑ Número de turistas que visitaron Canarias en 2016, por isla de destino (en miles)
  14. 1 2 "Official Canary Islands Tourism Website - The Canaries". Turismodecanarias. Archived from the original on 28 September 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  15. ↑ "Coyuntura Turística de Canarias en la Página Web Oficial del Gobierno de Canarias" (PDF). Gobiernodecanarias. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  16. 1 2 Boehrer, Bruce Thomas, 2004, Parrot Culture, University of Pennsylvania Press
  17. ↑ "Turismo Tenerife: Alojamiento, Carnaval, Actividades... - Tenerife". Webtenerife.com. Archived from the original on 26 August 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  18. ↑ "El Teide (Tenerife) es el parque nacional más visitado de Canarias con 2,8 millones de visitantes en 2008". Europa Press. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  19. ↑ "Turismo Tenerife: Alojamiento, Carnaval, Actividades... - Tenerife". Webtenerife.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  20. ↑ Hobshoue, Penelope, 2006, In Search of Paradise: Great Gardens of the World.
  21. 1 2 "Astronomical observation in the Canary Islands". AstroGC. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  22. ↑ Francis, Justin (11 March 2024). "Overtourism. What is overtourism and how can we avoid it?". Responsible Travel. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  23. ↑ Boyd, Milo (2024-01-27). "Holiday hotspot loved by Brits 'facing collapse' as too many tourists visit it". The Mirror. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  24. ↑ Palmero, Cristina Rodriguez,Héctor (2024-01-21). "Especialistas en urbanismo advierten: "El territorio canario se colapsa ante la sobreocupación de infraestructuras turísticas"". cadena SER (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2024-03-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ↑ "Lanzarote: Jet2 hits back as Brits told they're no longer welcome". euronews. 2023-03-02. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
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