The Canary Islands Day bridge brings occupancy to 90% but the 28M and the UD prevent a full house

Despite the good figures, this year the occupation of Canarian residents has been somewhat diminished by the 28M elections, which have led more than one to stay at home to exercise the right to vote on Sunday. In the case of the island of Gran Canaria, there is another determining factor that has cut guests, which is the UD Las Palmas party.

Ehe general director of Be Cordial Hotels & Resorts, Nicolás Villalobos, affirms that the occupations for this bridge "are very good" although the "full capacity" will not be reached due to the party and the elections. "The figures are magnificent but without these two facts they would be even better," says Villalobos, who states that on this bridge "the avalanche of other years will not occur."

Villalobos considers that, despite the rise in prices of establishments "as a result of inflation and the rise in operating costs", the rates do not stop local tourism. As he points out, The rise in prices is widespread and occurs worldwide. "A Canarian family could think of going abroad but prices have risen in all destinations, so in the end they still choose to stay in the Canary Islands because it is cheaper," says Villalobos.

The president of the Federation of Hospitality Entrepreneurs of Las Palmas (Feht), José María Mañaricua, confirms the good progress of tourism on this bridge, although it warns that the average occupancy of the month drops to 75-80%. "Without a bridge, the figures drop because the canary is key to good occupations and they rise up to 15%," he says. From the employer's association of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Ashotel, the forecasts are also good for the bridge.

Shipping companies and airlines, to the fullest

The shipping companies that operate in the islands foresee a high movement of passengers on this bridge. Fred Olsen This four-day bridge (five is included on Friday) foresees a total of 57,000 passengers and the movement of 15,000 vehicles in almost 300 trips. The lines with the most pull will be Tenerife with La Gomera, on which 14,000 people will travel these days, and Gran Canaria-Tenerife, with 10,000, according to company sources. For its part, the Armas shipping company will reinforce the line between Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife on Monday and Wednesday, with two routes each day.

With regard to air operations, according to Aena sources, the airports of the islands will register this bridge a total of 5,282 operations, of which 3,412 are national (including inter-island) and 1,870 international. The figures are higher than a year ago but, as Aena sources indicate, this year there is one more bridge day, since in 2022 Canary Islands Day fell on a Monday. At that time, 4,158 operations were registered (2,629 national and 1,529 international). The Gran Canaria airport foresees 1,519 operations; its strongest day will be Saturday, with 339. That day in the total number of airports there will be 1,185 operations.