Lanzarote wants to repair relationship with British holidaymakers

A Lanzarote tourism association is scrambling to repair relations with British holidaymakers and has distanced itself from the island’s president, Dolores Corujo, after she publicly called for a ‘higher class’ of visitor to the island from central Europe than ‘euro a pint’ Brits.

The Federacion Turistica de Lanzarote (FTL) reiterated yesterday (Thursday) that the island has “very strong ties” with British tourists, still wants them, and will continue to be “absolutely hospitable” towards them.

The FTL's remarks come in contrast to statements made by the President of the Lanzarote Cabildo last week at the Berlin Tourism Fair, who claimed for the second time, that the island was being saturated by British tourists and that it wants to accommodate more “higher quality” travellers from mainland Europe instead.

The tourism body has called on Corujo to “clarify the situation” and meet with representatives from the UK market to emphasize that “our Island is open to the reception of visitors from any part of the world.”

FTL promotional video for Lanzarote.

The FTL insists that all tourists are welcome on the island and reiterated that Lanzarote offers experiences for all budgets and nationalities, including Brits.

“We have always had very strong ties with the British market and, thanks to this, relations have been strengthened in such a way that they present a high level of fidelity with the Island,” the FTL stated in a press release yesterday afternoon.

“Lanzarote is an absolutely hospitable island and will continue to be so for British tourists, for which we emphasise their importance in the tourism and economic sphere of the island.”

The FTL's statement came after the CEO of Jet2, Steve Heapy, demanded an explanation from Lanzarote's president over what he called “inflammatory and offensive” remarks after she said the island's tourist industry was aiming to rely less on Brits.

He sent a letter to her on Tuesday asking her to clarify her statements and whether she wants tourists from the UK to come to the island or not, saying: “As the largest UK tour operator to Lanzarote, I contacted her for clarification over her quite frankly offensive comments about British tourists.”

He added that he wanted to know “what she means and to what extent she wants to reduce British tourism”, and that the president's comments have “left the hotelier community asking the same questions.”