subject: Lanzarote: Political Propaganda Or Holiday Destination [print this page] I was shocked to my very core when the president of Spain, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, said "Anyone who can come should come to Lanzarote." This biased opinion is surely going to have people flooding to the island of volcanic origin. Or is it?
As far as political opinions go this is at least based on some good facts and one that I would concur with. The Spanish president explained how he'd visited the Canary Island numerous times, following up with how beautiful the island is and how friendly the people are. I wasn't personally aware that tourism numbers were dropping in Spain a statement like that leads me to believe there just might be. Perhaps he is being perfectly honest about his affection for Lanzarote and my views are completely cynical, perhaps.
In 2008 it was recorded that tourism in Spain had took a turn for the worse with figures that saw a drop of 2 million visitors compared to the previous year. Many believe it is because people are seeking new shores for their holidays, to experience different things. My opinion is that the current world economic crisis has resulted in many couples, families and groups choosing not to take too the skies because of the costs it entails and instead sticking to their countries of origin.
I have ventured to many destinations worldwide and I always find myself coming back to Spain, whether it be a mainland or island destination. In that respect I think I'm not alone.
After a couple of strong years this 'credit crunch' that the world is experiencing has softened up and people are starting to get back into the swing of booking summer holidays and I see Spain being the major beneficiary of this.
Over the last few years more and more destinations have sprung up and challenged the super power holiday resorts that Spain has. The Canary Islands attracts perhaps the most people from mainland Europe with numbers that go to over 9 million, areas like this have tourists that have become very accustomed to the area and will holiday day nowhere else. So with such committed holidaymakers the Canary Islands always had a good chance of surviving a market lull.
Jose Zapatero insists there are few places like Lanzarote and I agree with what he says, despite being sceptical of his motives. The island is very unique with the landscape drastically effect by volcanic eruptions that give visitors some of the most fascinating sights, as well as the fantastic weather available it is a top European destination.
The comments made by the Spanish president could be an attempt to keep people looking at the likes of the Greek islands including Cyprus that do offer good family resorts, and even Sharm el Sheikh that is staking a claim to becoming the new party capital pushing Ibiza down the pecking order.
I will leave the possible reasons to a dip in tourism figures for you to decipher but I always see those numbers rising again. Maybes people feel like a change after island hopping around the Mediterranean, but I definitely feel people will return. The reasons to return might spread across the board with people choosing to have shorter flights, cheaper package deal or even share my opinion that the likes of the Canary Islands are arguably among the best holiday destinations.
