This morning, February 15th, Adeje Mayor Jose Miguel Rodriguez Fraga and the British Ambassador Hugh Elliott hosted a working meeting on Brexit and the future of tourism. Adeje's tourism councillor Adolfo Alonso Ferrera and the British vice-Consul in Tenerife, Helen Keating were also present as were many representatives from the tourism sector.
The discussion centred on the importance of the British tourism sector for Adeje and the Canary Islands. "The Canary Islands continues to be the favourite destination of the British tourist", said the Ambassador. "Prior to the Covid pandemic 5 million British visitors picked the Canaries as their holiday destination, and we are hoping to see those numbers again as soon as possible, and we do believe we will. During 2021 the archipelago was already a destination in demand for the British holiday maker".
As well as thanking Adeje for the work they have done and the excellent connections to Costa Adeje, the ambassador said the UK has been very appreciative of the flexibility shown recently regarding the issue of vaccines for the under 18s from the UK who may now travel to Spain if they have had a negative PCR test before flying.
Adeje mayor José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga commented "Adeje and the UK have a long history from a tourist, a residential and economic point of view". This meeting, said the mayor, "opens new avenues for working in this new reality, including diplomatically, and we are working to establish a system of dialogue and communication which allows us offer the best to both visitors and residents".
Before the pandemic changed the world view the British market was 45% of the quota of those coming to Costa Adeje, said the mayor, underling the importance of events such as these as "important commitments to our tourism sector which is strengthened thanks to investments and the professionalism of the sector, which see us maintaining standards of quality and sustainabilty as well as reaffirming our key elements of sun and sea, an excellent hotel offer and superb complementary activities".
The work meeting, organised by the British Embassy and the Adeje Council, saw representatives from the tourism sector, hotel sector and the national frontier police in attendance. Following short introductions there was an open question and answer session, and the Ambassador addressed issues relevant to Brexit and tourism, including the 90/180 day Schengen rule for visitors, security and passports, house sales affected by Brexit, as well as matters affecting British residents who may not have already registered.
