The Adeje team have been busy during this week, attending FITUR, the Spanish tourism trade fair, with a series of meetings with airline and tour operators as well as other sector representatives, and certainly the recovery indications are positive for the time being.
Adeje mayor José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga has been speaking on behalf of Costa Adeje, but also as president of the AMTC (association of Canarian tourism municipalities), and in particular has been stressing the need to promote sustainability as an integral part of the destination and the region’s tourism future.
“We cannot forget the fact that tourists come to the Canary Islands for the sun and to visit the beach, these are indispensible elements in our holiday offers, the main attractions, in that way we are blue destinations – for the sea and the blue skies. However we must not forget that we have to be a green destination too, a sustainable destination, seeking excellence constantly”, he told press during the week.
Looking after the destination was very important too – away from the beach and the sun, people want to be somewhere where “the streets are cared for, clean, with good street lighting, and where they feel safe, and that is something we work for not just for visitors but for our residents too, improving their lives as well”.
In most recent pre-pandemic year, Adeje had 10.5 million overnight stays, and has the best 5-star hotel offer in Europe with almost 8,000 beds in this category. The mayor also reminded people that over 80% of the territory is protected, an important part of the destination’s attraction. He also said that the success of the destination was in part due to the excellent relationships enjoyed between the public and private sector in Adeje. In fact during the pandemic Adeje has opened two new 5-star hotels – “we operate as a productive network, creating opportunities for all kinds for our people”, he stressed.
Emphasising that working relationship, Jorge Marichal, president of Ashotel (the provincial hoteliers association) and CEHAT (the national hoteliers group) said that in recent years there has been investment of up to €200 million in the destination. “This means that Costa Adeje is a destination that investors are not scared to visit, and they know they can expect quick and efficient responses from the local administration”.
Adeje's tourism councillor, Adolfo Alonso Ferrera also underlined the excellence of the different elements of a holiday in Costa Adeje, including the world-class water parks, the gastronomy offer, with a number of Michelin star restaurants, and events in the offing, including a Alejandro Sanz concert later this year. He also underlined the importance sports plays in the attraction of the destination.
In his role as president of AMTC, alongside vice-president Onalia Bueno García and the regional tourism minister Yaiza Castilla Herrera, José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga also presented details of Canary Green to the press and public – the full title (translated) is Canary Green: Destination decarbonisation – a Canarian stamp in Europe. This on-going project is a system using sustainable tourism indicators which feed directly into decisions regarding future economic activity. It involves information collection and analysis on matters such as water quality on beaches, looks at future control of car use, beach use, efficient use of water for plants in green zones, etc. The main axes are green transition and sustainability, energy efficiency, digital transition and competitivity.
