Lanzarote Tourism Down 18% Year To Date

The closely interlinked Lanzarote property and tourist sectors continue to struggle against a backdrop of declining visitor numbers.  As the Spanish airport operators AENA unveil their latest figures for tourist arrivals in June.  Which reveal that 24.45% fewer foreign visitors spent their holidays in Lanzarote last month.  With arrivals down by over 30,000 versus June 2008.

The holiday island of Lanzarote is heavily dependent on tourism.  Whilst overseas investment has long been the engine room of the islands property market.  However both sectors are now in decline as the number of foreign tourists visiting Lanzarote continues to fall back dramatically.

According to AENA foreign arrivals fell by 24.45% during June.  With the UK – Lanzarote´s largest market – the hardest hit.  Thanks largely to the impact of the weak state of sterling versus the euro.  Which is encouraging many British consumers to pass on foreign holidays altogether this year.   

As a result arrivals from the UK fell by a whopping 26.91% last month.  From 66,662 tourists in 2008 to just 48,721.  Whilst other key markets such as Germany and Eire fared little better.  Recording declining arrival figures of 16.43% and 24.18% respectively.

Overall, during the first half of 2009, the island has now welcomed 148,608 fewer tourists.  As total foreign arrivals have fallen from 823,444 in the first six months of last year to 674,840 arrivals for the year to date.  A decrease of just over 18%.

Once again the British market is way ahead of this negative trend.  With visitor numbers from the UK down by 20.03%.  Equating to 85,508 fewer visitors – down from 426,815 arrivals to 341,307. 

Arrivals from Eire fell by 16.65% over this same period.  Down by 17,398 visitors from 104,481.  Whilst German arrivals declined by 13.24% during the first half of 2009.  Down from 146,889 visitors to 127,448.

All of which makes miserable reading for the many thousands of overseas owners of Lanzarote villas and apartments.  As well as local hoteliers.  Who are all having to come to terms with greatly reduced occupancy levels.  Last month, for example the islands hoteliers association ASOLAN reported that just 49.1% of all hotel beds were filled during May. The lowest figure recorded in over forty years of island tourism.

Whilst many other business sectors continue to suffer.  As the shortfall in tourist numbers is estimated to have sucked over €30 million out of the island’s economy during the first half of this year alone.