Walter Finch
THE Canary Islands smashed all previous records for international tourist arrivals in 2023, thanks to one nationality in particular.
British tourists accounted for 5.7 million arrivals, more than a third of all the 14.1 million foreign passengers who rocked up on Spain’s Atlantic enclave last year, according to data from airport administrator Aena.
This contrasts with the stagnation of German visitors (2.6 million) and the slow recovery from Nordic countries like Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Sweden.
Numbers from Belgium, Portugal, and Switzerland all saw declines.
The overall figures mark a 6.9% increase from pre-pandemic figures – nearly a million more than before.
Tenerife led the islands in tourist numbers in 2023, attracting 5.6 million visitors, followed by Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, and Fuerteventura.
La Palma lagged behind with only 81,422 international tourists, a significant decrease from 2019 figures.
Overall, the Canary Islands’ airports saw a total of 48.4 million passengers, including domestic tourism, an 11.4% increase from the previous year, with 439,016 operations, 7.9% more than last year.
Gran Canaria and Tenerife South were the busiest airports in this aspect.
READ MORE:
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- This charming city in Portugal is a hit with Spanish tourists looking for calmer alternatives to the likes of Porto or Lisbon
- Spanish border guards are blamed for hours-long delays at the Gibraltar frontier crossing this week
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