Advantage Travel Partnership chief commercial officer Kelly Cookes said members hadn’t reported any impact on sales while Lisa Miles, manager of Newport’s La Vida Travel, said it was “business as usual” with Lanzarote.
“No one’s raised the row with us, no one’s brought it up,” said Miles. “I don’t think it’s something customers will take a lot of notice of.”
Earlier this month, Lanzarote council leader Dolores Corujo was reported to have said the island was looking to attract a more refined clientele, in an apparent snub to British tourists.
Corujo told ITB Berlin it was “essential” the island grew visitation from Germany to “achieve higher-quality tourism and greater spending in the destination”.
Her remarks prompted a terse response from some sections of the UK travel sector, with Jet2holidays chief executive Steve Heapy asking the council leader to explain herself.
In an open letter issued to the Canaries press, Corujo insisted her comments had been taken out of context and that British tourists “have always been and will always be welcome in Lanzarote”.
"It is completely false the island of Lanzarote doesn’t want British tourists or that we want to reduce their number," added Corujo in her letter.
Cookes said it was important not to lose sight of the importance of British tourists to Lanzarote, where Brits – she said – currently constitute around half of visitors, making an "essential" economic contribution.
Several other agents, including Thorne Travel’s Shone Thorna and Scapa Travel’s Amanda Sykes, told TTG they have not clocked any concerns from clients. Others said it was far from the first time debates around Spanish destinations’ efforts to overhaul their image had caused ructions.
“We had the same thing with Majorca a few years ago, talking about trying to change its image,” said Idle Travel director Tony Mann, while Andrew Earle of Andrew Earle’s Holidays recalled similar discussions about Tenerife in the 1990s.
Both Mann and Earle instead called on local authorities to promote a positive and inclusive debate around the island’s ambitions and avoid loose or generalised comments.
"It’s the officials making these comments who make the decisions about what the place is or is not," said Mann. "We just don’t need the negative headlines. If they want to make the place better, let’s put a positive spin on it.
"Lanzarote is a beautiful place, and has so much to offer tourists. And I’m sure the hoteliers and restauranteurs have been pleased to see British tourists come back after Covid. It’s a case of ’be careful what you wish for’."
Earle added any negative commentary would harm a destination’s ambitions, adding it was his belief authorities in Lanzarote should focus on upscaling their offering rather than criticising those who visit.
