THE future of Brits taking a summer break at a Spanish hotspot is at risk after it announced a new “tourism model”.
Lanzarote, part of Spain's Canary Islands, has said it has become “saturated” with bargain-loving Brits holidaying there.
Instead, it wants to attract “higher spending” visitors from France, Italy and the Netherlands.
Last year, more than 2.5million people visited the island – 17 times its population – with the majority coming from the UK.
Lanzarote President Dolores Corujo said the plan was to start a conscious tourism decrease, encouraging fewer visitors “with greater spending in the destination so that they generate greater wealth in the economy as a whole”.
She added: “This year, we went to the travel trade fair, FITUR to present the change in the tourism model that we want for Lanzarote, on which we have been working throughout this mandate, despite setbacks and limitations derived from the pandemic.”
Ms Corujo said that marketing would be focused away from UK holidaymakers with “a diversification strategy to reduce dependence on the British market.”
However, with tourism playing a key part in the island’s economy it is unclear just how the government will make up the lost revenue if it tries to reduce the number of holidaymakers going there.
Many Brits currently holidaying out there reacted angrily to Ms Corujo’s plan.
Andrew Edwards, 54, from Burnley, told MailOnline: “I think she is downright rude. This woman is saying she wants a better class of tourist, how dare she.
“In actual fact we are spending a lot of money here.”
Mark and Jackie Farr said they would stop coming to Lanzarote if they were not welcome.
Mark, 68, said: “If they don't want us here, we'll go somewhere else. They need us. What else is here apart from tourism? Nothing!”
Ex-pat Rebecca Wilkinson, 28, who works as a waitress, said Lanzarote and the other Canary Islands wouldn’t survive without British tourists.
