Popular holiday island welcomes record number of UK visitors
Tenerife welcomed a record number of visitors from the UK last year, despite the worsening exchange rate, however the rise was just 0.8%.
In total, 2,064,743 people travelled from the UK to the largest of the Canary Islands, according to the Tenerife Tourism Corporation, compared with 2.05 million in 2016.
The UK is Tenerife’s biggest market, accounting for 36% of all visitors. Last year’s small increase followed a 16% surge in 2016.
Tourism minister Alberto Bernabe said: "Given the ongoing challenges facing the UK economy, we were extremely pleased with the performance of the UK market last year.
"Tenerife remains a top choice for our British counterparts looking for a holiday destination that promises all-year-round spring-like temperatures, beautiful and varied landscape and fine gastronomy. We would like to thank all of our valuable partners – including UK tour operators, travel agencies and airlines – for their support throughout 2017 and for helping us to achieve these excellent results."
In November, it was announced that Tenerife and the Canaries are leading a bid to maintain the freedoms between the islands and Britain post Brexit.
Tenerife president Carlos Alonso said: "The British market remains the largest source market for the island, which is why one of our key priorities in 2018 is maintaining the fruitful relations with our British friends."
Overall, Tenerife welcomed a total of 5,704,047 worldwide visitors in 2017, an 1.9% increase on the previous year.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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