The Canary Islands will have about 2.5 million seats with the United Kingdom for the current winter season, which runs from November 1 to March 2017, according to the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports of the Canary Islands. Government of the Canary Islands, Mariate Lorenzo, on the second day of the World Travel Market 2016 in London.


The president of the Canary Islands Government, Fernando Clavijo, and the Minister have held various meetings with companies and tour operators these days, although there are concerns about the measures decided on the departure of the United Kingdom from The European Union, is unanimous the criterion that the Anglo-Saxons will continue to travel.

In this regard, British Airways commercial director Colm Lacy stated that the British have very much assumed in their domestic economy “three essential expenditures: mortgage, mobile phone and vacations.”

More explicit was Sophie Dekkers, general manager of Easyjet in the United Kingdom, who told the Canary Islands delegation that “no Brexit will bring the sun to the UK, so they will have to go on vacation to look for it.”

For the time being, for the winter season 2016/2017 high holiday demand has led companies to increase their regular air capacity from the United Kingdom to the islands by 23% over the same period of 2015, which is 450,000 more seats.

Mariate Lorenzo showed her satisfaction with this bet by British airlines to the Canary Islands, with an average of 565 flights a week and the opening of 29 new regular routes for this winter with all the islands except La Gomera and El Hierro , And noted that the British is “one of the most important tourist markets in the world, with more than 50 million tourists abroad each year, 10% of whom come to the islands”.

MEETING WITH THOMAS COOK

In the framework of the World Travel Market, the minister held a meeting with the top officials of Thomas Cook, the third company with the Canary Islands from the United Kingdom.

Thomas Cook CEO Björne Sandstrom reported that from UK tourism companies, which make up 2% of the country’s GDP, are trying to get the travel industry to take a different approach in the negotiations for market exit Common European.

According to some of the data collected these days in London by the counselor, for now the effects that the Brexit is having on tourism are basically due to the depreciation of the Pound since the referendum (14% against the Euro And 16% against the Dollar).

However, although the tourist packages to the Canary Islands for this winter have increased by around 5.4%, these have risen considerably less than the Pound has depreciated, concluding that the industry Tourism is reducing margins.

In addition, in terms of spending on destination and direct application of the exchange rate, the British tourist is experiencing an automatic price increase of 14%.

CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE CANARY ISLANDS AND THE UNITED KINGDOM

Of the 565 regular weekly connections joining the United Kingdom and the Canary Islands in November, 241 operate from Tenerife South airport, 142 correspond to Lanzarote, 98 to Gran Canaria, 78 to Fuerteventura and six to La Palma.

The airports of Gatwick (London), with a total of 104 connections; Manchester, with 99, Birmingham with 53, and Glasgow with 37, are the aerodromes that have a greater number of regular connections a week between the United Kingdom and the Canary Islands in November.

Ryanair and Easyjet airlines have the most regular new routes for this winter season. Specifically, Ryanair has launched connections linking Boumemouth, Leeds, Liverpool and Glasgow with Gran Canaria (the latter city is also connected via Ryanair with Lanzarote), as well as flights allowing travel from Newcastle and Belfast to Tenerife and Lanzarote.

While Easyjet has regular routes between Bristol, London Sowthend, Manchester, Newcastle and Gran Canaria, and also connects London Luton with Tenerife and Lanzarote, as well as London Gatwick with La Palma.