Brighter Outlook For Lanzarote?

Could the pain in Spain being caused by declining tourist arrivals finally be coming to end?  The latest figures just released for the holiday island of Lanzarote by the Spanish airport authority AENA certainly suggest that this may be the case.  With the decline in foreign tourist arrivals halving last month and the German market actually recording small but positive growth.  Whilst occupancy levels in hotels and apartments in Lanzarote are also showing some signs of improvement.

Lanzarote´s tourist industry has been ht hard by the credit crunch and ensuing recession.  With overall foreign tourist arrivals down by just under 17% for the year to date.  A figure much in keeping with the rest of Spain.  However Lanzarote´s economy is much more vulnerable – as the island relies almost totally on this sector.  And is especially dependent on tourism from the UK – which accounts for around 55% of all visitor numbers annually.

As a result the island has been profoundly affected by this years economic events.  As the British market has been affected to a much larger degree thanks to the added impact of the weakness of the pound.  Which has resulted in visitor numbers from the UK dropping by close to 20% - some way ahead of the average for other nationalities.

The latest figures just released by AENA suggest that there may now be some light at the end of the tunnel for Lanzarote´s tourist dependent economy though.  As whilst the total number of foreign arrivals fell by 8.17% this rate of decline is much lower than in previous months.  When the number of foreign arrivals had previously been falling by a cumulative rate of over 16%.  Providing some encouragement for the many overseas owners of apartments and villas in Lanzarote.

According to the latest AENA figures total arrivals for October numbered 124,673 foreign tourists. Down from 135,762 in the same month last year.  With the German market – Lanzarote´s second largest – actually registering a small increase in visitor numbers.  Up from 19,912 in October 2008 to 20,418 last month.

British arrivals fell for the same period fell to 69,224 from 76,051 visitors.  Whilst the number of tourists visiting the island from Eire – Lanzarote´s third largest market – declined from 17,078 passengers in October 2008 to 15,411 last month.

These more positive figures are also reflected in a decreasing rate of decline in occupancy levels in Lanzarote hotels and apartment complexes.  With the number of beds filled dropping by less than 9% last month.  A massive improvement on earlier in the year when the island’s hoteliers were struggling to cope with the lowest occupany rates ever seen on the island in over forty years of tourism.