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Wed, 27/02/2019 - 14:00

Canary Islands attends ITB 2019 with the aim of maintaining its competitive edge

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Image of the Canary Islands pavilion at ITB 2019

The 6th to the 10th March sees the return of the Berlin International Travel Fair (ITB) for another year, an event that the Canary Islands tourist brand will once again be attending with the aim of keeping its competitive edge in the German market. The prevailing situation is one of increasing volatility in the tourism market, especially in the field of airline connections. To this end, the working agenda is to include meetings and contacts with the main airlines that operate in Germany, as well as with tour operators and other tourist agents. 

Through its representatives, the Canary delegation will be insisting on the powerful reasons for sustaining the excellent competitive position of the islands in Germany, a highly consolidated traditional market in which 40 % of its population has visited the Archipelago at some time in their lives and 75 % of whom holiday outside their own country at least once a year. At the Canary Islands stand, over 165 companies will be striving to make sure this market continues to visit the different resorts around the Canary Islands.

According to figures at the Canary Institute of Statistics, the average spend per tourist and per trip by Germans is above average (1,279 euros as opposed to an average of 1,154 euros), making a total of 3,516 million euros last year. Likewise, German visitors to the islands stay for longer than average, spending 11.3 days compared to the average of 9.7 days.

The Canary pavilion, the best place for doing business

Canary Islands will be at this year’s ITB in a 750m2pavilion which has already won two important awards: firstly at the Madrid International Tourism Fair (Fitur) for its cutting edge style and audiovisual and technological design; and secondly at the World Travel Market as the best place for doing business. It is a spectacular stand which aims to attract German visitors in an innovative and even emotional way. The concept of the good climate as the essential attribute of the Canary Islands Brand will be present around the whole stand, with sets of chromatic lighting and organic materials, evoking colours of the ocean, vegetation and volcanic landscapes.

The pavilion, which will have 165 different companies from the Canary tourism sector attending, is another element of the communication strategy by the Canary Islands brand, and for this reason, mixes the warmth of the destination, reminding everyone that the archipelago has the best climate in the world all through the year, with innovation and a cutting edge style reflected in giant screens, with striking images and a tool to measure the feelings these cause to visitors. The stand also features an apt design for responding to the needs of Canary tour operators, with a work zone equipped with 30 booths for private use, and work tables set up to encourage the development of business relationships.

The Berlin International Travel Fair is one of the most important fairs in the world, with 186 different countries coming from all five continents. There are 10,000 stands and exhibition pavilions, and 170,000 visitors between professionals and the general public, making it undoubtedly a superb occasion to promote the islands.

15.6 million tourists in 2018

Last year was the second best year ever in the history of tourism in the Canaries, as 15.6 million people visited the islands, reflecting a turnover of 17,118 million euros, according the figures from the Tourist Spending Survey. Despite the re-emergence of competing destinations, which slowed growth slightly over the last few years, the global result can be considered positive, with occupancy levels at 79.4 % and the creation of 259,000 jobs. At the same time, tourist spending keeps on rising: the average spend per tourist grew by 5.4 %, while the average daily spend rose by 5.7 %.

Besides this, never in the history of the Canaries have they been better connected than today, as more planes are now landing on the islands from more cities, facilitating not only the arrival of tourists, especially those who are travelling under their own steam, but also the mobility of Canarians and the business and cultural exchange this generates. The Canary Islands have 156 regular national and international destinations, through 848 air routes, reflecting an increase in their connectivity capacity abroad of 20.5 % over the last four years.

 

*The presence of Canary Islands at the Berlin International Tourism Fair is 85% co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER).