Tenerife 'tourists won't return crisis' as officials rush to improve island

Tenerife officials have been urged to rapidly improve aspects of the Canary Island which are turning Brits off.

One top hotelier revealed she regularly hears feedback from Brits saying how wonderful her hotel is, but that they won’t be coming back because the island is “unbearable”.

Business executives are calling for “speed” in improving public infrastructure and housing shortages.

Particular concerns include a lack of taxis at the airport and long queues on the island’s main roads, according to cadenaser.com.

The President of Fedola Group Hotels, Victoria Lopez, said: “The issue here is that improvements in public infrastructure are not going at the speed we need right now as a destination.”

She added: “We are finding ourselves with a very bad gateway for tourists.”

Ms Lopez wants the same urgency for infrastructure upgrades as was present during the pandemic, when “they had the possibility of issuing a decree from a Sunday to a Monday and they did it”.

She summed up her complaints by saying: “we have very competitive accommodation at world level, but improvements in infrastructure are still lacking.”

The comments come shortly after the islands made the news after a Brit booked a shared flat in Lanzarote through a well-known booking platform – only to find a commercial space full of tents and shared bathroom.

Spain, like Britain, is experiencing a major housing crisis, and when the Brit arrived outside the address, there was a sign saying: “important – do not give explanations to neighbours and outsiders about this coworking space.

“The neighbours do not want tourists. Do not allow them to enter the premises. They are not friends.”

The flat is now being investigated by the Tourism Department of the Canary Islands Government after police handed over their reports.

Speaking about the incident, Ms Lopez said the image of the Canaries really needs to be looked after. She called for an “elimination from the market of anything that does not meet a minimum standard of quality”.