‘Higher quality tourism’: Lanzarote’s President takes dig at Brits as she praises German tourists

María Dolores Corujo said the German tourist market conformed to its intentions to aim at ‘higher-quality tourism’

Tourists relax on Puerto del Carmen beach on April 12, 2014 in Lanzarote, Spain. Lanzarote, , is a popular destination for British tourists and is just 37 miles long and 12 miles wide (Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

Lanzarote’s president has praised German tourists as the island tries to reduce its dependence on British tourists.

María Dolores Corujo said the German tourist market conformed to its intentions to aim at “higher-quality tourism”.

She said: “It’s essential to work on the diversification of the sector and the growth of markets like the German market, which adapt to our intentions of aiming at higher-quality tourism and holidaymakers who spend more when they’re here and moves us away from mass tourism.”

Lanzarote, Canary Islands (Getty Images)

The comments come as a Lanzarote Council delegation promoted the island at this week’s Berlin Tourism Fair, which began on Monday.

The delegation planned to meet with more than 25 meetings with Germany’s main tour operators, airline and airport chiefs.

President Corujo has previously stated she wants to change the island’s approach to tourism. She said the stance would mean aspiring to receive fewer visitors “with greater spending in the destination.”

She said her aim is “diversification to reduce the dependence on the British market.”

Around half of all the tourists who visit Lanzarote are British, but president Corujo is aiming to target more French, Italian, Dutch and German visitors as well as Spanish tourists from the mainland.

The director of the Spanish Tourist Office in the United Kingdom said the country would not “discriminate by type of visitor.”

He said: “Travel industries need to work together to address the challenges of mass tourism” but the country’s main focus was on “becoming a more sustainable and competitive tourism destination.”

However, Francisco Martinez, vice-president of Lanzarote’s Island Association of Hotels and Apartments, said political leaders were opening an unnecessary debate and being “badly advised”.

Lanzarote is dependent on tourism and hit hard by seasonal variation as well as being affected by events such as the pandemic.

Lanzarote was found to be the cheapest package holiday destination in 2021, according to research by TravelSupermarket.

This was due to the island only a small number of visitors while social distancing guidelines were in place.