This week, the President of Lanzarote praised German tourists whilst speaking at the largest travel fair in Germany, as they announced that the island was to try and reduce its dependence on British tourists. Currently, the British market is overwhelmingly dominant in Lanzarote, with over half of all arrivals being British.
Dubbed ‘too grotty for Lanzarote’ by the British media, the President said that the island’s intention was to aim for ‘higher-quality tourism’ and later went on to imply that other nations spend more on holiday than the British do.
The President claimed they would prefer fewer visitors if those visitors spent more money on the island – at bars, restaurants, local businesses, attractions and leisure facilities.
This made me think.
What does the destination think of us as a nation when we travel?
What can we do to encourage others to contribute to the local economy when travelling, and spending money in the resort supporting the community?
Does our attitude as a nation contribute more to mass tourism?
Do we really travel responsibly?
Do we need to change perceptions?
We’re working on something at the moment, which we’ll communicate later this year. However, in the meantime, we have a website dedicated to tips on how to travel responsibly, which you can find here.
