Tourist Arrivals Up 5% On Lanzarote In First Half of 2010

The number of foreign tourists arriving on flights to Lanzarote grew by just over 5% during the first half of this year.  According to figures just released by the Canarian Institute of Statistics (ISTAC), which suggest that this popular holiday destination and overseas investment favourite is starting to recover some of the ground lost during the recession.

Foreign tourist arrivals fell by close to 20% on Lanzarote during the course of 2009 thanks to the combined impact of the economic crisis and the deprecation of sterling.  Whilst the Lanzarote property market remained becalmed for much of last year as a result.   However the latest ISTAC statistics suggest that there now brighter skies ahead.  With the island welcoming a total of 710,104 foreign tourists and 162,658 visitors from Spain during the first six months of this year.

This increase has largely been fuelled by a revival in fortunes in the island´s key UK market place.  As the number of British tourists spending their holidays in Lanzarote climbed by just over 9% during the first half of 2010.  Up from 341,307 visitors in the first half of 2009 to 372,145 arrivals.  With most island observers attributing this increase to the ‘Ryanair Factor’ – as the budget airline introduced no less than 35 new services to Lanzarote in November last year.

However, British tourist numbers still remain nearly 13% below figures recorded during the first six months of 2008.  Before the economic crisis began to make itself felt.  And more pertinently visitor numbers from other key markets such as Germany and Eire look far less rosy.  With tourist arrivals from these two countries tumbling by 3.55% and 14.17% respectively.

Indeed German visitor numbers are now down by 16.13% versus the first six months of 2008 – with Irish arrivals close to 30% shy for the same period.  Suggesting that Lanzarote´s all important tourist sector remains some way short of achieving total recovery.

However property enquiries and transactions have started to pick up again during the first half of this year,al estate agentsLanzarote reporting far more positive sales figures.  Aided in no small part by the willingness of local banks to start lending to overseas buyers once again allied with the recent recovery in the value of sterling against the euro.  Which has effectively made property on the island that much more affordable for British investors.