I’ve been looking for a silver lining to this cloud, but it’s very difficult to see one. The Canarian economy, although falling more slowly in the third quarter of this year, has now entered into technical deflation at a rate of -2.2%, and the Chamber of Commerce in Santa Cruz warned that it could start to fall again between now and the end of the year. Unemployment too, though stable at the moment, could rise again to reach around 28%.
The stark assessment was given by the General Director of the Chamber of Commerce in Santa Cruz, Vicente Dorta, who pointed out that the Canaries were out of step with the economic situation in the rest of the country, and that there was still a great deal of insecurity in Canarian businesses about the prospects for survival in 2010.
During Sr Dorta’s presentation of the report into the current economic situation, Cajasiete’s Economic Studies, Lola Pérez, stressed the extremely worrying effects of the islands’ touristic crisis, which has not only seen fewer visitors, but also an alarming 20% reduction in tourist spending compared with 2008, far below the 8% reduction in such expenditure seen nationally.
JAA