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Summer Season 2017
The Department of Tourism is projecting very positive outlooks for the upcoming summer season in the tourism sector. All signs point to an 8.4% increase compared to last year’s figures.
The truth is that this sector has been one of the least affected by the crisis; from the moment it erupted in 2009, it has had a chaotic impact on certain sectors, such as the construction industry. Although it is true that the tourism sector suffered significant losses, starting in 2012 we began to see a slight rebound, which accelerated during the 2014–2016 period and, based on current trends, is expected to be even stronger this year; though it remains to be seen how the year will ultimately pan out.
The Department of Tourism would like to remind us that 2016 ended with very positive visitor figures; in the Canary Islands alone—one of the regions in Spain where visitor numbers have risen the most—the year closed with 15 million tourists, a figure representing an increase of up to 12.6% compared to 2015 figures. This, in turn, boosted revenue by approximately 16.6 billion euros—that is, nearly 16% more than the previous year.
What are the tourism forecasts for 2017?
For now, they’re just that—forecasts—but everything seems to indicate that they’ll ultimately come true.
We are basing our analysis on the data we have collected so far this year. As a result, in January alone we saw an increase of up to 7.5% in international passengers and nearly 3% in domestic passengers.
We also have good news regarding hotel occupancy: during the same period, it increased by as much as 86% compared to 2016. All of this has a direct impact on the labor market as well, with the number of Social Security enrollees in the travel agency and hospitality sectors increasing by as much as 7.6%.
However, it wasn’t all good news: at the end of the previous year, we learned that visits by German tourists had dropped by about 10.37%. There is speculation that this is related to the aging of the tourism market and that these tourists are choosing to travel to other destinations such as Egypt or Greece.
However, certain measures have already been put in place to try to win back this market. For example, in the Canary Islands, they are conducting a comprehensive online promotional campaign, in addition to providing as much information as possible on-site to let tourists know where the points of interest they might want to visit are located.
Everything points to this year being the best since the economic crisis began—a positive development that will change everything.
