WHY IS ONE OF THE GREAT TOURIST DESTINATIONS IN SPAIN?

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1 WHY IS ONE OF THE GREAT TOURIST DESTINATIONS IN SPAIN? Gran Canaria Tourist Board C/ Triana, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Tel: (+34) Fax: (+34)

2 BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT GRAN CANARIA Gran Canaria is one of the seven volcanic islands that make up the Autonomous Community of the Canaries. It is situated at a distance of 1,250 kilometres from Cádiz, the nearest continental European port, and 210 kilometres from the northwest coast of Africa. According to figures from the Canary Institute of Statistics, in 2015 Gran Canaria registered a census of 847,830 inhabitants, meaning that 40.4% of the total population of the Archipielago lives in the 21 municipalities on this island. Its capital city, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is not just the largest city in the region, with 379,766 residents, but is also an attractive economic, cultural and administrative centre. 27% of all visitors coming to the island for their holidays paid a visit to the city. 4,2 million tourists in 2016 Gran Canaria welcomed 4,2 million tourists in 2016, a figure that consolidates its position as a world tourist power, and one of the top holiday destinations for European visitors. Last year more visitors came to the island than to other countries such as New Zealand and Cuba. This reflects a high level of loyalty, given that 57% of these visitors had previously been to the island. The mild, pleasant climate is constant throughout the seasons, and this proved to be the foundation for the tourist industry towards the end of the 19th century, when travellers from the Old Continent -mainly the British and German- chose Gran Canaria for the curative properties of its natural spring water and hot springs. Artist Néstor Martín-Fernández de la Torre was one of the leading figures of the time who pushed hard to promote tourism as the driving force behind the social and economic transformation on the island. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria acquired great international prestige around its port area through the activity of British ships, who used the Canaries 2

3 as a stop off point en route to Africa, and boosted the construction of accommodation establishments, including the prestigious Santa Catalina Hotel, and Metropole Hotel, the latter now being used as headquarters by the capital s Council Offices. Following the armed conflicts that swept across Europe during the first half of the 20th century, several sites including the Viera y Clavijo Botanical Garden, the Columbus House Museum and the Pueblo Canario became fashionable in the 1950s as tourist hotspots, prior to the emergence of the International Ideas Contest to develop Maspalomas Costa Canaria. The tourist resorts began to spring up at the south of the island in 1962, and with them the first Swedish families who settled around San Agustín. Since then, Gran Canaria has experienced spectacular growth, based on its wide product range, high levels of service, and a competitive range of accommodation, which is continually being updated to keep pace with the needs of its clients. These virtues have made it a market leader which really comes to the fore during the winter season, a time when millions of Europeans come down to the island to escape the cold. TABLE 01 Leading source countries for visitors in 2016 (number of passengers) Germany Scandanavian Countries United Kingdom Spain Others TOTAL TABLE 02 Visitors coming in from Scandanavian countries in 2016 (number of passengers) Norway Sweden Denmark Finland TOTAL *More information at: 3

4 TABLE 03 Places offered by accommodation establishments in Gran Canaria in TYPE CATEGORY TOTAL OF ACCOMMODATION UNITS TOTAL PLAZAS TOTAL ESTABLECIMIENTOS Non-hotel Apartament Emblematic house Rural accommodation Villa Rustic accommodation Holiday home Hotel Hotel Emblematic hotel Country hotel City hotel Hostel Tourist expenditure in Gran Canaria increased in 2016 to 4,757 millones de euros. Each tourist spent an average of 1,180 euros during their stay, the highest figure in the Canaries. Parallel to this, the tourism industry employs 20% of manual labour in a territory whose surface area (1,560 square kilometres) is slightly inferior to that of the city of London (1,572 square kilometres). Travellers choosing Gran Canaria main value its climate, security, and the open character of its inhabitants. Its diversity led to 61% of tourists going on excursions to get to know the interior of the island, while 28% of visitors tried out local cuisine. Gran Canaria has 60 kilometres of beaches spread out along its 236 kilometres of coastline. 12 of these boast the blue flag, awarded every year by the Environmental Education and the Consumer Association, a fact which guarantees the quality of its waters and infrastructures, and its suitability for bathing and water sports. The island s geographical peculiarities and its unique terrain, which reaches a maximum altitude of 1,949 above sea level at Pico de Las Nieves, generate microclimates which have led to the island being labeled a Miniature Continent. 43% of the land surface area and the marine coastline on the island was given special protection in 2005 by UNESCO with its declaration as a Biosphere Reserve, in recognition of the high levels of preservation and the variety of its species, as well as the sustainable development of its natural environment. 4

5 Gran Canaria aims to become a logistical platform to tie in the continents of Europe, Africa and America, and bases its candidature on its close commercial and cultural links it has enjoyed with each one for centuries. In 2016 the island received flights from 142 different aerodromes from 25 countries, helping the airport of Gran Canaria to consolidate itself as the sixth busiest in Spain, catering for 12,093,645 passengers. Also, in 2016, the Port of La Luz and Las Palmas, one of the most important ports in the Mid Atlantic, welcomed 610,902 cruise ship passengers to the island, a trend which indicates further constant growth for this sector. TABLE 04 Air connectivity of Gran Canaria, in numbers (2016). Airport of Gran Canaria Passengers Flight operations Tons of goods transported Airlines Countries Destinations TABLE 05 Sea connectivity of Gran Canaria, in numbers (2016). Port of La Luz and Las Palmas Passengers Cruise ship passengers TOTAL

VARIETY AS THE MAIN ATTRACTION Nevertheless, the popularity of Gran Canaria as a top tourist destination goes far beyond these figures.

infrastructures. Nearly half the surface area of Gran Canaria is protected territory.

The Nublo Rural Park and the Maspalomas Dunes Special Natural Reserve are the most representative attractions, while the island also hides away in its interior a great biodiversity which

6 VARIETY AS THE MAIN ATTRACTION Nevertheless, the popularity of Gran Canaria as a top tourist destination goes far beyond these figures. The island has shown at the international events it has promoted itself at the sheer versatility of its range of offers, as well as a flexibility capable of attracting all segments of society. The first thing visitors need to know is that the average year round temperature of 24 degrees on thermometres in Gran Canaria are not just an essential ingredient for enjoying an extensive variety of beaches. The seas that surround the island provide great fun for professionals and amateurs to go windsurfing, surfing, diving and sports fishing, along a safe coastline equipped with modern infrastructures. Nearly half the surface area of Gran Canaria is protected territory. It is a place packed with landscapes and natural areas that are just ideal for hiking, mountain biking, cycle tourism and climbing enthusiasts. The Nublo Rural Park and the Maspalomas Dunes Special Natural Reserve are the most representative attractions, while the island also hides away in its interior a great biodiversity which can be captured from the 31 viewpoints dotted about the countryside. Gran Canaria has the widest range of pre-hispanic cultural and artistic content on the islands. The Painted Cave in Gáldar, an excavation of volcanic tuff rock, houses ancient wall paintings in its interior, and is the most representative archaeological settlement out of an ample network of vestiges that illustrate just what life was like for the first dwellers to inhabit the Canaries. Christopher Columbus stopped off in Gran Canaria on three of his four expeditions to America. The district of Vegueta is at the cultural heart of the capital, and houses a museum that carries his name, and offers an interesting collection of objects that portray the links with the so called New World. 6

Alternative leisure options are catered for at the Atlantic Modern Art Centre (CAAM), the Canary Museum, the Benito Pérez Galdós House Museum and the Elder Science and Technology Museum.

7 Alternative leisure options are catered for at the Atlantic Modern Art Centre (CAAM), the Canary Museum, the Benito Pérez Galdós House Museum and the Elder Science and Technology Museum. Gran Canaria is also the venue for important cultural and sports events such as the Transgrancanaria, the Canary Music Festival, the Canaries Jazz & Más Heineken Festival, the ARC Regatta, and the Gran Canaria Wind and Waves Festival, one of the outstanding stages of the World Windsurfing Championship. The fiesta calendar kicks off with the celebration of the Carnival of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, quickly followed by nearly all the other towns on the island. This jubilant tradition with its great international media impact dates back to the time following the Castilian conquest, and signals the start of the fiesta calendar, which includes La Rama in Agaete; El Charco, in Aldea de San Nicolás, and the surrendering of honours to Our Lady of El Pino, patron saint of the Canary Diocese. Gran Canaria is the finest tourist destination for golf. The island has 8 very different golf courses all within a radius of under an hour s car drive. One of these is the Royal Golf Club of Las Palmas, the oldest in Spain, built in 1891 in Bandama, by reputable Scottish golf architect Mackenzie Ross. Gran Canaria s towns and villages offer the chance to discover their fine cuisine, which is based on a rich assortment of locally sourced products. Top dishes include papas arrugadas potatoes, sancocho and an array of stews and broths which are the perfect blend for a fine meal, without forgetting of course wines with the island s own Denomination of Origin, plus extraordinary quality cheeses and the finest desserts from the island s bakers. The Valle de Agaete cultivates the only coffee to be produced in Europe; the Arehucas Rum bodega is the largest and oldest of its kind in the whole of the European continent, while the restaurants nestling on the coast provide superb local fresh fish from the Atlantic. The Grancanarians have hospitality etched intrinsically in their DNA, which is extended to the treatments provided at the spa and wellness centres run by qualified professionals. Rest and health are guaranteed thanks to the different techniques on offer, from thalassotherapy and massages to treatments using seaweed, marine mud and salt baths, among other therapeutical remedies. The wide range of offers makes Gran Canaria the perfect spot to enjoy free time with the family. Zoos, water parks, botanical gardens and camel rides, plus boat trips for cetacean spotting are just some of the choices to help escape the daily grind, together with the kids. 7

8 LEGAL SAFETY AND ECONOMIC INCENTIVES Gran Canaria is part of the Single European Market to all effects, both in terms of the common currency and customs. Travelling to Gran Canaria therefore needs no different requirements than if you were flying from Barcelona to Madrid, or from Bilbao to Málaga. As a Spanish territory, it maintains security standards on a par with anywhere else around the European Union. Its security levels in health, food, environment and justice provide a solid base for the development of tourism, and are aspects that are highly valued by the great tour operators from all over Europe. Gran Canaria is also a hotspot for shoppers, thanks to its wide choice of shopping centres and a fiscal system that provides low taxes for consumers. The island boasts large shopping areas with all the leading national and international brands; shops from the FEDAC that sell traditional island items, while farmers markets and stalls open their doors for business over the weekend at the hillside towns and up at the summit, the stand out markets being at Teror, San Mateo, Santa Brígida and Cruz de Tejeda. Alongside this, the diversity of the island s landscape and its all year round privileged climate have turned Gran Canaria into a highly sought after natural on location film set for film and documentary makers. Its modern cultural infrastructures, cosmopolitan atmosphere and fiscal advantages, with discounts ranging from 35% to 40% for national and international productions, have encouraged films such as Allied, Wild Oats, Fast & Furious 6 and Palmeras en la Nieve to be set here, in collaboration with the Gran Canaria Film Commmission. 8

HISTORIC, NATURAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE Astrotourism is another of Gran Canaria s other standout projects, which is launching itself into outer space to conquer the spectacular night skies and to

9 HISTORIC, NATURAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE Astrotourism is another of Gran Canaria s other standout projects, which is launching itself into outer space to conquer the spectacular night skies and to fight against light contamination, in order for people to regain their right to star gaze. For this it has undertaken a range of activities to help boost its candidacy at UNESCO in six months time in its attempt to be declared a Starlight Tourist Destination. The idea is to recuperate the night skies the Canarian aborigenes used to observe, who created astronomic marker points unique to the world, and to add to the list of the island s tourist attractions and open up new channels of knowledge. Indeed, the Canaries are one of the only places in the world, along with Hawaii, New Zealand and Chile, considered by UNESCO to be a window to the heavens for the clarity and quality it possesses to enable us to see the stars, something which the planet is in great danger of losing. For this reason, the role of defending the skies that Gran Canaria has taken on has become a basic action point for the island, along with also trying the have the aboriginal archaeological settlement of Risco Caído, located at Artenara, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, together with the Sacred Area of Montaña de Gran Canaria. Gran Canaria puts on visits to a range of archaeological sites, which are spread all over the island, including Cenobio de Valerón (Santa María de Guía), the Roque Bentayga Visitor Centre (Tejeda), the Maipés Archaeological Park (Agaete), the Arteara Necropolis (San Bartolomé de Tirajana), Cañada de Los Gatos (Mogán), the Barranco de Guayadeque Visitor Centre (Agüimes) and La Fortaleza Visitor Centre (Santa Lucía de Tirajana). One of the most original cultural attractions coming out of Gran Canaria is the Sanmao-Echo Chen Route in Gran Canaria, an initiative whose aim is to pay tribute to Chinese writer Chen Ping. The literary writer is famous back in her home country, and she spent six years living in the town of Playa del Hombre, in the municipality of Telde, 9

10 during the 1970s. Sanmao is the author of around 20 books, and was also the translator into Chinese of the popular Spanish Mafalda comic strip. The Telde Town Hall, at the request of local poet María del Carmen Ramos, has set out to honour her memory with an educational tour around her former home and other places she frequented. AN ISLAND UNDERGOING CONTINUAL TRANSFORMATION Gran Canaria is a tourist destination that embraces the challenge of offering top quality holidays to visitors through new projects and investments that guarantee the resort is constantly undergoing transformation. The Poema del Mar Aquarium, an important tourist attraction promoted by the owners of Loro Parque, will be shortly opening its doors in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, in a clear attempt by the capital city to expand its leisure and entertainment offers. This recreational centre will take up 8,500 square metres set out in three different zones, with the capacity to house 350 different animal species. Its owners intend to attract 500,000 visitors a year, and have estimated they will create around 200 new direct and indirect jobs once the installations have been opened at the Port of La Luz and Las Palmas. Elsewhere, the area known as El Veril, in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, will be the home for the Siam Park Water Park, a project involving an investment of 60 million euros. This latest leisure attraction will be built over a surface area of 175,000 square metres and will feature slides, beaches, rivers, gardens, restaurants, a volcano and Thai-styled temples, along with other attractions for the whole family to come along to and have a fun and adventurous day out. 10

INNOVATION Accommodation in Gran Canaria is constantly moving forward as it strives to adapt itself to the needs of its guests, with all the latest in design and new technologies.

11 INNOVATION Accommodation in Gran Canaria is constantly moving forward as it strives to adapt itself to the needs of its guests, with all the latest in design and new technologies. The prestigious Scandanavian hotel chain Radisson Blu has recently opened its second hotel on the island, at Puerto de Mogán, a place famous for its canals and distinct architecture, as well as its beaches and fine climate. The Radisson Blu Resort & Spa Gran Canaria Mogán is a five star establishment containing 342 rooms and 80 suites which have private terraces from where guests can enjoy the pleasant climate and gentle ocean breezes. Another recent addition to the range of accommodation establishments in Gran Canaria is the reopening of the Nayra Hotel at Playa del Inglés, a former one-key bungalow complex that has been converted into a 4-star hotel with 92 beds in 46 top quality suites, which has entailed an investment of 3 million euros. 11

September is a great month to get to know all about the island s local traditions, as there are a series of significant festivals going on at this time, including the pilgrimage and offering of gifts

12 EVENTS The municipality of Agaete will be celebrating its Fiesta of La Rama on 4 th August. This is one of Gran Canaria s greatest shows of identity, and is the main event within the fiesta dedicated to the Virgin of Las Nieves, declared a Fiesta of National Touristic Interest in September is a great month to get to know all about the island s local traditions, as there are a series of significant festivals going on at this time, including the pilgrimage and offering of gifts to the Virgin of El Pino, the patron saint of Gran Canaria, (Teror), the Fiesta del Charco, or Pond Festival (La Aldea de San Nicolás), the pilgrimage of Las Marías (Santa María de Guía), the Traída del Gofio y el Agua festival (Agüimes), and the Pilgrimage of the Virgin of El Rosario (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), which sees us into October. As far as top sports events are concerned, every year the island welcomes in events which between them have attracted up to 7,400 sportsmen and women. These include the Gran Canaria Marathon held every January, together with a string of other mountain race events such as the Transgrancanaria, the Gran Canaria-Mogán Challenge and the Tejeda Circular Run. The wonderful prevailing conditions for nautical sports in Gran Canaria has made it a venue for the World Windsurfing Championship, the World Bodyboard Championship, and for those wishing to take unforgettable snaps of the incredible natural ocean bed, they can take part in the FOTOSUB Las Palmas de Gran Canaria photograph contest. In November the island becomes the world meca for hiking, thanks to the Gran Canaria Walking Festival, which rounds off the sports calendar in style, alongside the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), a regatta that joins Gran Canaria with the Caribbean island of Santa Lucía, to finish the year with the Gran Canaria Tourist Cycling Tour and the European Stand Up Paddle Championship. Other interesting events also going on here every year include the Canaries International Contemporary Dance Festival between the months of October and November, the Maspalomas Winter Pride which received over 50,000 people at last Autum s festival, plus the Christmas celebrations, featuring the popular Sand Nativity Scene Las Canteras Beach in the capital city. 12

13 Gran Canaria Tourist Board Triana Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Tel: (+34) Fax: (+34) mygrancanaria gctourism visitgrancanaria

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