Lanzarote, a part of Spain and the most easterly Canary Island has always been a very popular holiday destination with Northern Europeans due to its year round sun and warm winters. It is also a very popular summer holiday destination for those looking for a relaxing break within Europe as temperatures can soar to 40 degrees in the right conditions!
Last year Lanzarote suffered a drop in tourist trade. Some reports suggest that it had 20% less holidaymakers than the year before. The strength of the Euro against the pound didn't help visitors from the United Kingdom, especially at a time when most people were tightening their spending due to a worldwide recession and job losses.
Because of this many businesses in Lanzarote, especially those that relied on tourism suffered and folded. However, the island appears to have kept itself afloat as residents turn to local attractions to keep them entertained. People who live in Lanzarote don't need to travel to find good weather so most residents stayed local and re-discovered the attractions on the island such as The Timanfaya National Park, Mirador del Rio and Jameos del Agua to name but a few.
Lanzarote has a special entry rate to such attractions, along with transport, for residents. Residents of Lanzarote usually pay around half of what tourists to the island will pay to enter an attraction, catch a bus or catch a ferry across to Fuerteventura.
It's a shame to see a country like Lanzarote suffer. It's a natural beauty and a perfect combination of man and nature. It's not uncommon for people who visit the island to return year after year, and some even go back 2 or 3 times a year. In the winter it is also not uncommon for people to visit the island for a month at a time as the escape from the cold winters back home.
As we start to see signs that the recession is recovering we can only hope that visitor numbers to Lanzarote also pick up. It relies on Tourism, although it does have secondary economy streams through Wine and Salt production.
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