The Canaries will lose some 250,000 airline places with the UK this winter, its principal source of tourists, which means a 30% drop compared with the same period last year. The figures come from Aena, but are confirmed by various governmental sources, and the drop is partly due to the failures of airlines like LTE and XL.
The Canarian VP, José Manuel Soria, however, in London for the World Travel Market on behalf of Paulino Rivero who is still in hospital, said yesterday that he was confident that the islands would begin to see a recovery beginning in mid-2009. His words were pretty much echoed by the Minister of Economy, also present at the WTM, who said that the airlines should be able to cover the drop in places from around October next year.
Aena suggested that other markets, like the Scandinavians, will compensate for the drop in British arrivals, and that the overall drop in visitors will be more like 2%. The Spanish mainland, however, will fare worse, with an overall expected drop in places of 15%.
The question on everyone's lips, though, was how to fill the planes that are still coming. The answer from the Canarian Department of Tourism seems to be promotion, promotion, and more promotion, with the new logo
Islas Canarias: you deserve them appearing in adverts, papers and journals in the UK, Ireland, France, and mainland Spain. The Tourism minister confirmed that the promotional campaign will mean more than 47 million items of publicity, more than 40,000 seconds of airtime, and more than 150 million internet items, the whole package "inundating" Europe with the islands' message.
Let's hope it works ....
Canarias7
A 30% drop in British airline places to the Canaries is expected in 2009 
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