Tenerife. Quo vadis?

Tourism is the lifeblood of Tenerife. All of those fortunate enough to live and work in this magical island, drink from this elixir this life source, directly or indirectly.
Tourism is not in a crisis in Tenerife; not unless we make it so either by negative thinking or by identifying where we are as a problem rather than as an opportunity. The industry is merely at a crossroads where there are a number of alternative routes which we can select to launch ourselves successfully into phase two of our development, into a sustained trajectory of quality growth. In this phase two there must also be a continuous effort to identify and grow other sources of lifeblood; thus protecting ourselves from ‘contamination’ of this one arterial source. That is to say we must diversify and develop other employment generating economic activities.

Phase one, which has lasted for about forty years, is over. Enormous progess has been made even if, at times, quality has been sacrificed for quantity. We now have the opportunity to take stock, to decide where we have been, where we are now, where we want to go, where we should go and, last but not least, where we can go with the blend of resources available to us while being ever sensitive to the dynamics of the market place. This review should above all be a learning experience. If we don’t learn from the past we are doomed to repeat any errors that we may have made. Quality rather than quantity in every aspect of the term should be our motto and in this context perhaps we should accept that five million tourists is at or indeed above the level sustainable by Tenerife. It appears clear that at or near this figure the island is close to overload. There is overall saturation and diminishing returns set in.

Low cost airlines and an ever-expanding EU have transformed the tourism world. Furthermore, tourists are becoming more adventurous in their choice of destinations. Spiralling fuel costs may temper this sense of adventure and, indeed, may prove relatively advantageous to Tenerife.
Why would tourists come here rather than go to an increasing number of alternative destinations where they may enjoy equal or better facilities at possibly lower prices? Rather than trying to sell what we believe we have got to offer, perhaps we should ask tourists, both actual and potential, what they want and expect from us. This is probably the essential difference between selling and marketing. There are two simple and practically cost-free methods of acquiring this feedback, this very valuable marketing information. To be continued...
www.pci-international.com