Lanzarote has just been awarded the prestigious Best Winter Sun Destination for the fourth year in a row by the Irish Travel Agents Association. So further cementing the island’s amazing level of popularity amongst holidaymakers in Eire, who continue to visit Lanzarote in huge numbers relative to the size of that country’s population of 4.5 million people.
According to the latest figures from ISTAC, the Canarian Institute of Statistics and Frontur, Spain’s Institute of Statistics for Tourism, the volume of Irish holidaymakers soared by an amazing 16.2% during the course of last year, the largest percentage increase of Lanzarote’s three main foreign tourist markets. In total 202,760 tourists from Eire touched down at Arrecife airport, up from 174,321 in 2012.
This equates to approximately 1 in 20 of every resident in the Republic enjoying a break on Lanzarote each year….which must certainly make it much easier for the Irish to guess where their friends and relatives are planning to go on holiday!
Elsewhere British tourist numbers also continue to soar, up by 7.2% to a total of 959,212 visitors – reinforcing the growing impression that the UK, the island’s main tourist market is now well on the way to recovery, whilst passenger numbers from mainland Spain also climbed for the first time since the onset of the economic crisis by 2.6%.
Other interesting market developments include the growing expansion of Dutch tourism, which rose by 17.6% last year with a total of 81,833 visitors and the renaissance of Scandinavian tourism, with passenger numbers from Finland, Norway and Sweden climbing by 19.7%, 17.8% and 38.6% respectively.
Only German visitor numbers have fallen back, down by 2.9% during 2013, a significant loss but one that is more than offset by these gains, as Lanzarote enjoyed its best year for tourist arrivals this century, as a total of 2.17 million holidaymakers choose the island for a sunshine break.
At the Irish Travel Agents Association Awards Lanzarote fought off stiff competition from other popular and prestigious winter sun destinations such as Tenerife, Florida and Morocco to retain its number one slot. With the local tourist board saluting this victory as further vindication of their marketing and promotional strategies. Either way, this award once again highlights the quality of Lanzarote’s overall tourist offering, with climate, accommodation, culture, sports and attractions all combining to provide the perfect ingredients for a great holiday in the sun.
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