The Canary Islands seeks to attract top-level athletes to train in the winter season on the islands 

As reported by the La Vanguardia newspaper on the 25th of January 2021 The Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce of the Government of the Canary Islands has prepared, through the public company Promotur , an action plan to position the archipelago as the best winter destination in Europe for those who need to develop their high-competition training.

To this end, it highlights the “unbeatable” conditions offered by the Canary Islands in sports, both due to its climate and geography, water temperature and specialized services for athletes, according to the Canarian Government in a press release.

The Minister of Tourism of the Government of the Canary Islands, Yaiza Castilla, stressed that the islands have natural conditions that make them the “paradise of training and active sports in nature, to which health security is added as a value of the destination at this time where practically all European countries have imposed more restrictive measures “due to the increase in new infections.

For this reason, she added, the regional government has chosen to intensify the promotion of this tourist segment, included in the Canary Islands Tourism marketing plan, in a scenario like the current one, since it pointed out that while “in the rest of Europe has returned to restrictive and confinement measures in some cases, the islands can accommodate those who cannot stop training. “

In this sense, Canary Islands Tourism has taken advantage of the presence of a large group of sailors who are in the Canary Islands training for the Tokyo Olympic Games, scheduled for July 2021, to develop various materials to disseminate these days among the national media and international. It also includes the testimonies of some of the 200 elite athletes, of 35 different nationalities, who have chosen the Canary Islands as their training base this winter.

Likewise, they add, they are working on a “more ambitious” communication campaign to attract the professional sports tourism segment, in such a way that the generation of specialized content for the target audience of professional sportsmen, mainly audiovisual, will be joined by the development of a new landing page to concentrate the execution of an international campaign aimed at this segment.

They point out that professional sportsmen prescribers will play a “fundamental role” in the promotional strategy, since they will transmit in first person the “advantages of destiny”, such as the international communication action around the current Olympic sailing training in one of the Canary Islands, complementing it with cobranding performances with “big relevant brands” for sports practice and for elite athletes themselves.

Thus, among those who participate in the first part of this campaign are testimonies of medalists such as Sime Fantela , Olympic champion in the 2016 Rio Olympics in class 470, who defines the islands as “the paradise of sailing”; or Robert Scheidt , five times Olympic medalist, and Max Salminen , gold in London 2012 in the Star class . 

On the other hand, in relation to the concentration that has taken place in the Canary Islands of sailors on the occasion of the next Olympics, the managing director of Tourism of the Canary Islands, José Juan Lorenzo, affirmed that it is “something exceptional, it is almost a pre-Olympiad “, since he pointed out that the main Olympic teams from “practically all the countries here are training.”

To this, he added, it is due to the fact that the natural conditions for practicing sport sailing “are unique and athletes maximize their training times, with flat sea and ocean waves very similar to those of Japan”, to which the climate adds , which allows them to spend “many more hours in the water. The Canary Islands has benefited from this, it is like an oasis in this very different winter.”

In this sense, the Canary Islands Tourism Minister, Yaiza Castilla, stressed that “this is an example of everything” that can be offered to these professional athletes. “Not only sunny days, trade winds, many hours of daylight and weather conditions that are not found in Europe, but also the freedom to continue with their sports routines in high-level facilities, both accommodation and sports, in an environment committed to the health security, “he said. Finally, it was highlighted that the Canary Islands have been “until now the chosen location” for events such as the Ironman in Lanzarote, the Marathon in Gran Canaria, the Transvulcania in La Palma or the Basketball World Cup.

in such a way that he pointed out that “although This tragic year has not allowed these events to be held, which were already a classic in the calendar of sports lovers, yes “it can be insisted that” individually, they can come here to practice and train their discipline. “

Castilla also recalled that the nature of the archipelago invites you to do sports “in the open air, thousands of kilometers of coastline, unevenness in height for cyclists, such as the Tour de France participants who prepare by climbing Mount Teide because there is no similar place in the world “, so he understands that this competitive advantage must be used to remind the markets that the Canary Islands are still waiting for them. 

Regarding the profile of this traveler, they refer to the data from the Survey on Tourist Expenditure which states that in 2019 the number of tourists who carried out some sporting activity in the destination was 1,784,045, which was 13.4 percent of the total of travelers of that year.

Thus, their average expenditure per trip was higher than the average, with 1,228 euros compared to 1,136 euros, as was their stay, being 9.81 days compared to 9.09.

Regarding the reasons for choosing the islands, it’s mainly due to the weather and the safety offered by the sea and beaches, staying mainly in four – star hotels by 34.9 percent, but also in establishments extrahotel 20.1 percent, and in five-star hotels by 9.1 percent.

By Islands, Tenerife receives 25.6 percent of tourists who go to do sports, followed by Gran Canaria with 25.6 percent, Lanzarote with 20.3 percent, Fuerteventura with 16.3 percent and La Palma with 0.8 percent.

Regarding the type of sport, 6.1 percent comes from cycling or mountain biking ; 4.5 percent for surfing; 4.3 percent to run; and 3.3 percent for diving or diving. They are also “satisfied” with the destination and are faithful to it, since they repeat 73.1 percent, above the average of the rest that stands at 72.2 percent, being intensive repeaters with more than 10 visits by 18.6 percent.

The average age is 43 years and 41 percent come as a couple and their origin is mainly from the United Kingdom (27%), Germany (23.6%); Peninsula (10.5%) and other countries (39%) including France, Ireland, Sweden, Holland, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Poland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Austria, Czech Republic and Russia.

https://www.lavanguardia.com/local/canarias/20210125/6196572/canarias-busca-atraer-deportistas-alta-competicion-entrenen-temporada-invierno-islas.html