THANKS TO DIGITAL LANCELOT
The forecasts of the tourism sector, the Tourist Board and the Government of the Canary Islands itself, for this summer, which they expected to be that of economic recovery, with figures similar to those before the pandemic, are not being met.
The average hotel on the island has started the summer with an average occupancy of around 70%, when it was expected to exceed 80% in most of them. It is true that some family hotels have reached these figures, and even exceed them, but the vast majority are far below.
For the sector it has been a serious setback, as they expected it to be a good summer for the island economy.
But what are the causes?
It is not possible to speak of a single cause, although, without a doubt, the general rise in prices that has impoverished families would be the first reason. This same weekend, the national press published that one in three families in Spain has canceled the reservations they had made for this summer.
Plane tickets have become notably more expensive, standing between 200 and 300 euros per person in the months of July and August. An average family of four people, analyzing the cost in different search engines, would cost between 1,200 and 1,600 euros to travel to the island during the next two months. For that money, it is feasible to rent an apartment for a full week in the heart of the Costa del Sol. The economy rules.
Accommodations and restaurants have also become more expensive, and the Spanish middle class cannot afford such an expense.
Despite everything, the President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, has valued the good data from the islands despite the effects of the invasion of Ukraine and hopes that both the summer and the high tourist season will yield “positive” data if confirm the trends. The Canarian president hopes that the war “ends as soon as possible” and that prices “can be regulated” given that high inflation poses a “threat” to economic growth, but he makes it clear that the Canary Islands “are demonstrating” their “strength” to do in the face of the energy and price crisis. He has indicated that “one less unemployed person is a reason for joy” and that there had not been such a low unemployment figure for 15 years or as many affiliates as now, but there are still more than 190,000 and we must “
