Lanzarote says it is tired of so many British tourists visiting the island – and wants LESS British holidaymakers

The Spanish island has made a name for itself as a popular British holiday hotspot, offering year-round sunshine, stunning beaches and stunning volcanic scenery.

But Lanzarote has now decided it has had enough of tourists after becoming ‘saturated’ with Brits abroad.

The Kanarentreff now consciously follows a policy to reduce tourism in order to “secure the future of future generations”.

Island leaders say the new strategy will focus on becoming less dependent on Britons, who currently make up more than half of holidaymakers.

Lanzarote, with a census population of just 151,000, received 2.5 million tourists by November 2022, 17 times its population.

Now the Island Council has proposed the idea of ​​declaring itself a “tourist-saturated area”, for which it believes there is “a broad social consensus”.

Lanzarote President Dolores Corujo (PSOE) said this would be the start of a period of tourism decline.

“This year we went to the FITUR travel fair to present the change in tourism model that we want for Lanzarote and that we have been working on during this term of office, despite setbacks and restrictions due to the pandemic.

“There we certified the return to full tourism normality and reaffirmed our firm commitment to sustainability and excellence,” she said.

This attitude, she said, will mean we strive to receive fewer tourists, “with more spending at the destination so they generate more wealth in the economy as a whole.”

The Canarian meeting point now consciously follows a policy of tourist decline in order to “guarantee the future of future generations”.

Lanzarote, with a census population of just 151,000, received 2.5 million tourists by November 2022, 17 times its population

With more than half of the island’s visitors coming from the UK, it will be necessary to “employ a diversification strategy to reduce dependence on the UK market”.

Therefore, growth was expected in the markets of France, Italy, the Netherlands and the Peninsula, which would directly affect the increase in tourism spending at the destination.

Tourism leaders say that while the goal is shared, attracting a higher-spending tourist such as a resort will require major investment. B. the beaches and the infrastructure.

And they say it will be difficult for Lanzarote to find other profitable markets to ease the weight of tourism.

Tourists take photos in Timanfaya National Park, a protected volcanic area on the southwest coast of Lanzarote

“There is hardly any commercial space and aquaculture is not well received either. If tourism does not want to grow and at the same time there is no industrial land use planning and other models are rejected, everyone involved must ask themselves which future model they want to develop,” says a company manager.

Hotels will also need money to modernize themselves.

At this stage, the Lanzarote Island Council has not said how it intends to reduce tourism saturation or visitor numbers.