Crece el incendio en el Reino Unido sin que el Cabildo haga una aclaración
El Evening Standard, con una tirada diaria de medio millón de ejemplares, se hace eco de la polémica sobre las “incendiarias y ofensivas” declaraciones de Dolores Corujo
El periódico gratuito Evening Standard, con una tirada media diaria de 500.000 ejemplares, se hizo eco también este jueves de las “incendiarias y ofensivas” manifestaciones realizadas por la presidenta del Cabildo, Dolores Corujo, sobre la declaración de Lanzarote como isla saturada turísticamente y la necesidad de ir hacia un turismo de calidad que ejemplificó en el alemán, despreciando por descarte a nuestros principales visitantes, los británicos.
Mientras se suceden las repercusiones mediáticas inglesas y de los turoperadores británicos sobre esas declaraciones, el Cabildo Insular sigue sin intervenir para aclarar o rectificar en su caso esas manifestaciones realizadas en el marco de la Feria Internacional de Turismo de Madrid, Fitur 2023.
Tanto el empresariado turístico de la isla como los turoperadores británicos siguen esperando una aclaración del Cabildo, hasta el punto de que el director general de Jet2.com, Steve Heapy, remitió hace unos días una carta a Dolores Corujo, preocupado por las repercusiones de esas manifestaciones y pidiéndole que clarificara qué entendía por turismo de calidad.
El Evening Standard recoge en una información interior del periódico que Heapy "le devuelve el golpe" a la presidenta del Cabildo por sus “incendiarios y ofensivos comentarios” al pedirle explicaciones en esa carta sobre qué entiende la presidenta por turismo de calidad.
El rotativo gratuito londinense también recoge los datos de afluencia turística de los británicos en Lanzarote, 1,3 millones en 2019, la mitad de los que visitan la isla, y recuerda que también en Baleares se han realizado pronunciamientos oficiales sobre la capacidad turística de las islas.
Este es el artículo publicado este jueves 16 de marzo por el Evening Standard:
Jet2 CEO demands explanation from Lanzarote president for ‘inflammatory’ call for fewer Brits and more ‘high quality’ tourists
Miriam Burrell
Thu, 16 March 2023 at 4:51 pm WET
The head of British airline Jet2 has hit back at “inflammatory” and “offensive” comments made by Lanzarote’s president about British tourists.
Dolores Corujo told trade conferences last week that the Canary island, a popular holiday destination for Britons off the coast of West Africa, wanted to attract more “high quality” tourists from mainland Europe, such as from Germany, the Netherlands and France, so it didn’t have to depend on British travellers.
More than 50 per cent of visitors to the island currently come from the UK, and overcrowding is an existential threat to the volcanic island, she added.
The Socialist party head of Lanzarote’s local government said: “It’s essential to work on the diversification of the [tourism] sector and the growth of markets like the German market”.
Ms Corujo said the government wanted to draw holidaymakers who spend more money and move the Atlantic Ocean island away from “mass tourism”.
The local opposition party has condemned the plans, claiming it would drive up prices for locals and devastate the local economy.
Jet2 chief executive Steve Heapy said he wrote a letter to Ms Corujo to clear up just how much she “wants to reduce British tourism”.
He told Travel Weekly: “We heard about what the minister had said at ITB in Berlin last week, so on Monday, I took the initiative and wrote to her, copying in all the hoteliers in Lanzarote.
“As the largest UK tour operator to Lanzarote, I contacted her for clarification over her inflammatory and quite frankly offensive comments about British tourists, to ask her what she means and to what extent she wants to reduce British tourism.
“It’s left the hotelier community asking the same questions.”
In his letter, Mr Heapy said Ms Corujo’s comments could have a detrimental effect on British tourists and asks for clarification over the term “higher quality tourism”.
The Tourist Federation of Lanzarote (FTL) echoed Heapy’s call for clarification, and distanced itself from the comments.
Jet2 is the largest tour operator in the UK and has put 625,000 flight seats on sale to Lanzarote for this summer and next winter, Canarian Weekly reports.
The UK market is by far the largest to the island, with 1.3 million UK visitors in 2019 compared to 309,000 from Germany and 115,000 from France, according to Canarian Weekly.
The island, administed by Spain, is known for its volcanic landscape, picturesque beaches and year-round warm weather. Timanfaya National Park, stretching 51 kilometres across Lanzarote, is made up entirely of volcanic soil.
Lanzarote is the latest of several Spanish islands to express concern over large volumes of tourists.
Last month, the government of the Balearic Islands - which includes Mallorca, Menorca, and Ibiza - announced plans to cap tourist numbers. In 2022, more than 16 million holidaymakers visited the islands, Euronews reports.
Mallorca revealed that it would not allow more than three cruise ships a day to the island’s capital of Palma across 2023 and 2024.
