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Tue, 10/03/2020 - 13:39

Over four million Europeans have viewed the Canary videos against Internet hoaxes

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Canary Island profiles on social media have posted videos in several different languages featuring testimonies by tourists to reassure visitors against coronavirus hoaxes

The videos made by Turismo de Islas Canarias to dispel hoaxes on the Internet exaggerating the coronovirus situation in tourist resorts around the archipelago have been watched on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by 4,386,385 different users between 28th February and 6th March. The number of viewings have exceeded five and a half million in all (precisely 5,608,057), in mainland Spain, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Poland and France.

The purpose of this promotional campaign is to send out a reassuring message to tourists at home who are monitoring the evolution of the coronavirus on the archipelago with a view to going ahead with their travel arrangements. True testimonies made by travellers who are on the islands enjoying their holidays have been recorded in Spanish, German, English, Dutch, Italian, French, Swedish and Polish, and the results they have achieved are highly positive, due to the number of reactions and comments they have generated. 81,392 “likes” and comments have been recorded, together with a high number of shares.  

Connecting the Canary Islands brand with its European target audience

This campaign has had higher repercussions than other similar campaigns, as it highlights the impact that the coronavirus and all its consequences are having on a global level, while also reinforcing the renown and the strong links the Canary Islands brand and its islands enjoy with their European target audience. This connection has been highly positive, highlighted by the many comments made by people concerning the safety of the Canary health service, the decision to stick to their holiday plans in the islands while taking the necessary precautions, together with comments such as “this virus is all over the place and we need to get on with our lives”, and aiming criticism at the media on how it has handled the information. In this way, users have expressed their satisfaction as to the truthful information they have access to in their own language through the campaign.

One of the nationalities to have reacted the most to the videos are the British, who have followed the transmission of the virus in Tenerife with great interest. They have sent many messages of encouragement since the beginning, highlighting the special relationship that exists between tourists from the United Kingdom and the Canary Islands.  

The Canaries, a safe holiday destination

Over the last few days, the focus of the islands’ tourist promotion has centred on reassuring visitors that the archipelago continues to be a safe location for holiday-makers, and has the fewest risks anywhere in the world, even in the current scenario, and that the health services are equipped and ready to tackle any eventuality. Accordingly, they are combining information regarding proper and efficient prevention measures for visitors on the islands with the dissemmination of reassuring messages abroad. The final objective is to cushion negative repercussions that may affect short term bookings, as well as to shed a positive communicative light on the fact the crisis will pass and the situation will get back to normal.