President of Canary Islands government announces €2,000 million plan

The President of the Canary Islands government, Paulino Rivero, announced today at the World Travel Market in London a €2,000 million plan for jobs and growth for the Canary Islands with which he hopes to re-launch the competitiveness of the tourism sector in the Canaries. Mr. Rivero is currently attending the WTM in London, Great Britain, where he will stay until Thursday at the Canary Islands stand at the World Travel Market. In a statement, the president said that this project of growth for the Canary Islands will be supported by the European Union (EU), will have public and private support and “will boost the competitiveness of the tourism sector and promote the generation of jobs”. Mr Rivero is accompanied at the WTM by the Deputy Minister of Tourism of the Canary Islands, Ricardo Fernandez de la Puente Armas, who states that the Canary Islands are currently experiencing “good times”.
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He also said that the islands “are doing well in tourism promotion and modernisation” and trade fairs such as World Travel Market are “fundamental to help consolidate traditional markets and boost emerging markets, as well as to highlight our tourism potential”. Mr. Rivero went on to emphasise the importance of the UK market for the Canary Islands and the fact that the overall volume of travel bookings for the British winter season (November through April) to the islands has grown by 4%. According to the data from the ‘Tourist Expenditure Survey’ by the ‘Canarian Institute of Statistics’ (ISTAC), British tourists spent €2,651 million in the Canary Islands between January and September 2012, representing an increase of 14.84% over the same period last year.

* Archive image of Paulino Rivero