Lanzarote says it’s tired of having so many British tourists visiting the island – and wants FEWER British holidaymakers
The Spanish island has made a name for itself as a popular British holiday spot, offering year-round sunshine, beautiful beaches and a stunning volcanic landscape.
But Lanzarote has now decided it has had enough of tourists after becoming ‘saturated’ with Britons abroad.
The Canary Islands haunt is now deliberately pursuing a policy of tourist decline to “guarantee the future for generations to come”.
Island leaders say the new strategy will aim to become less dependent on Britons who currently make up more than half of holiday numbers.
Lanzarote, with a census population of just 151,000, received 2.5 million tourists through November 2022, 17 times its population.
Lanzarote has now decided it’s had enough of tourists after being ‘saturated’ with Brits abroad (Pictured: David Cameron on holiday in Lanzarote in 2014)
Today, the Island Council has put forward the idea of declaring itself a “tourist-saturated zone”, for which it assures that there is “a broad social consensus”.
Lanzarote President Dolores Corujo (PSOE) said this would be the start of a phase of declining tourism.
“This year we went to the FITUR travel fair to present the change in tourism model that we want for Lanzarote, on which we have been working throughout this mandate, despite the setbacks and limitations arising from the pandemic.
“There we certified the return to full tourism normality and once again underlined our firm commitment to sustainability and excellence,” she said.
This position, she said, would be tantamount to aspiring to receive fewer tourists, “with greater spending in the destination so that it generates greater wealth in the economy as a whole”.
The Canary Islands haunt is now deliberately pursuing a policy of tourist decline to ‘secure the future for generations to come’
Lanzarote, with a census population of just 151,000, received 2.5 million tourists until November 2022, 17 times its population
As more than half of the visitors to the island come from the United Kingdom, it would be necessary to adopt “a strategy of diversification to reduce dependence on the British market”.
Growth was therefore expected on the French, Italian, Dutch and peninsular markets which would have a direct impact on the increase in tourist spending in the destination.
Tourism officials say that even if the goal is shared, massive investment will be needed to attract a higher-spending tourist, such as beaches and infrastructure.
And they say it will be a difficult task for Lanzarote to find other lucrative markets to reduce the weight of tourism.
Tourists take photos in Timanfaya National Park, a protected volcanic area on the southwest coast of Lanzarote
“There is hardly any industrial land and aquaculture is not welcomed either. If the decision is not to develop tourism and at the same time there is no industrial land use planning and other models are rejected, all parties will have to ask themselves which future model they want to develop said one business leader.
Hotels would also need money to modernize.
At this stage, the island council of Lanzarote has not specified how it plans to reduce tourist saturation or the number of visitors.
