Tourism/Business Crisis

[weymouthuk]

Hi

Can anybody comment on the state of Tourism and Business in Lanzarote at the mo?

I hear rumours of hundreds of bars for sale due to Tourists going all inclusive and airlines pulling their schedules out of Lanzarote. Apparently Puerto Del Carmen, a normally bustling resort even at this time of year is like a graveyard at the moment with business owners of some 25 years throwing in the towel due to lack of custom.

Anybody shed any light on these rumours?

Carl.

[ILUVLANZ]

Not a direct answer to your post Carl but having visited Lanza twice a year over several years you expect small increases in costs each year but looking at this year the flights seem so much higher and the Euro against the pound is at an all time low, it's gonna be a whole lot dearer, will I go somewhere else?.........no, just can't stay away:ghug

[GillianW2]

http://forum.lanzarote.com/showthread.php?t=8502

This might answer your rather gloomy question Carl.

I agree, prices have got a bit silly flight wise so we have decided to abandon the idea of Lanzarote for the time being. Sad really.

[candeltias]

It is definately not the same - I have seen a big difference particularly in PDC - It used to be bustling - I am not surprised people are giving up ! The exchange rate does not help , but that has only happened relatively recently.
I refer to one of my earlier posts - I think Lanz needs tidying up its become tacky and a bit run down in some areas - the bods in the Lanza tourist board need to get thinking, the whole place relies on the holiday makers. I also think the restaurants/bars etc got greedy and people didn't come back. How come in the Asociadads you can get a beer for a bit over a Euro? and in PDC it is over 3.5? Anyway enough of me ranting - at least the weather is good.

[dave o]

this was happening the last time we went, about 3 years ago. its sad as it was our favorite place. we went for years with the kids and then just me and the wife.its the long haul holidays that are so cheap that is not helping. we went to the dominican republic last year for 2 weeks, 24 hour all inc, 2 people for £14035 total so what chance have the caneries got when you can get holidays for that price. it would of cost a lot more to go self catering in lanza.
dave o

[weymouthuk]

Thanks for all your responses so far. I should fill you in with a little background info on my question.

My father arrived back in the UK this week after having lived in Puerto Del Carmen for a few years. He told me that those holiday makers that are going to Lanzarote are staying all inclusive and rarely venture outside the confines of the hotel bar & restaurant which in turn puts local business under. In addition flights range from £120.00 return up to +£1000.00 and apparently First Choice are thinking of pulling the island from their schedules altogether. I should add that my father only left the island as there is no work available (outside of bar work which seems = long hours for little pay).

I'm really upset by all of this. I first visited Costa Teguise at the age of 14 and fell head over heals in love with the place. Now 30, I was thinking about moving over and had my eye on a few potential bars for sale. Sadly though it seems people are selling because there are no customers either through less tourists or people staying in their hotels.

Its really sad!

[Anne Bond]

Hi

We've also noticed a big rise in Lanzarote prices over the last few years. We are amongst the "guilty" tourists who go all inclusive, but we still venture out for drinks, lunches and evening meals elsewhere, as staying at the hotel all the time is not an option for us. The all inclusive deal still saves us money though and gives us a good idea of the cost of the whole holiday.
However, this may have to be our last visit to Lanzarote this year, as all the holiday costs have risen steadily, especially flight tickets, and overall everywhere just seems to have hiked their prices.

We managed to book an all-inclusive for April for £930 for a week, which is the best price we could get and that's about £100 dearer than last year. Just to contrast that, a week in September 2008 in Menorca (not especially known for cheaper deals), self-catering cost us just under £334.00, including flights!!

It'll be so sad if the current situation is allowed to continue; we'd be devastated if we couldn't return to our favourite island, But, like most people, have only so much money to spend on our holidays, and we need to get the best value we can.

Having said all that, I don't know what could be done and by whom.

Any geniuses out there with the answer? :idea

[brenda]

Ann, no answer to expensive Lanza! many reasons, Lanza has to compete with all good weather islands like Gran Canaria, Tenerife so all flights at any time of year can be expensive, however I am lucky I can pick and choose and usually can get a cheap flight from Gatwick, long way from Wales but works out cheaper than my local airports. I think that Lanza is trying to go 'upmarket' and why not, no hoarding, low rise and the legacy of Cesare Manrique who helped to make the Island unique, however many airlines, tourist companies, real estate and outside businesses all want high profits and compete to push up prices, I would never go all inclusive, use the same self catering company you are happy with deal direct and negotiate in a quiet period, I use local restaurants,cook whenever with local food, and have a blow at expensive ones now and again, go for local people they only want to make a decent living, they welcome you, they are all over the island if you look. Lanza is in a transitional period, the Ayuntamiento (Council's) are doing their best but only have limited funds whilst trying to cope with developing the Island. Lanza has many expats trying to do their best SARA the animal shelter is the only one on the island and many others who love Lanza involve themselves in the community. I love the island and after many years of travelling would not go any where else, nowhere is perfect but Lanza is perfect for me

[oleoleole]

Brenda,

You half answered your own question :-

“I think that Lanza is trying to go 'upmarket' and why not,”

Because

“the Ayuntamiento (Council's) are doing their best but only have limited funds”

You can’t have one without the other.

But anyway, this whole thing about ‘upmarket’ is just some tourist industry ploy, some sort of marketing drive, yes they’d like improvements on the island, doesn’t everyone, but at what stage does ‘improvement’ become ‘upmarket’ ? Mainly in the minds of people who feel the need to consider themselves ’up market’ I’d say.

Ole

[weymouthuk]

Hmm, some interesting views being put forward here. I headed this thread with the word 'Crisis' and I wonder do people on this forum consider the problem of elevating prices and fewer tourist to be a 'Crisis' or am I overstating?

I used to giggle to myself when I told people I went to Lanzarote for a holiday because most of the time they would reply with "Lanzagrotty". I of course knew that it was anything but grotty but felt secure I wouldn't be bumping into them in Costa Teguise as they would likely be on a Monarch Airlines direct to Ibiza to drink like fish and puke in the streets (as seems to be the fashion).

I would hate to think that Lanzarote would go to upmarket but I feel an image of being upmarket can do as much good as it can harm.

[candeltias]

I have to disagree with this - please give me 5 examples of where Lanz has gone "upmarket" By my estimation its gone "downmarket" hence it cannot compete with other destinations. Majorca is a classic - once deemed as a drunkards paradise it is now one of the most expensive places in Spain - still has its share of downmarket clubs with dodgy clients , but it has definately gone upmarket and is perceived very differently now, to the 70s. Lanz, unfairly still has the "Lanzagrot" label and building a few palaces in the very false looking Playa Blanca wont change that. PDC is tacky - the pavements are lethal, cockroaches abound and it is very expensive. I love Lanzarote - but I cannot say its upmarket - other than the weather it has little going for it after the first visit, it is far too small!!
To me upmarket is Monaco, Biarritz, Dubai,Sorrento etc they are class places.
Sorry to be so dispondant - but I would be very interested to know what the up market attributes are that I clearly miss on a daily basis.

[weymouthuk]

Im not sure anybody has said that it has gone up market, only an attempt to appear upmarket, perhaps by building the aforementioned palaces in Playa Blanca or by airlines and local businesses ramping up prices that makes the average holiday maker feel alienated. As I said before however, I don't think an upmarket image is totally harmful, it has to be better than a downmarket image. Lets assume that PDC in its current state was used as the picture postcard for brochures, would the tourists come flooding back?

What I most want to grasp from this thread is why are business owners of 25 years throwing in the towel, why do I hear about some 300 bars for sale in PDC alone? Is it simply high prices driving away the customers or is it that people are opting for All Inclusive and staying in the Hotel and that airlines are pushing prices through the rood....or perhaps a combination of all of these things?

And again, does anybody consider this a crisis or is it par for the course (something that happens every few years)?

[oleoleole]

There’s no crisis unless you’re personally financially over-committed to tourism and happen to one of the people struggling with the current tourist profile on the island. Plenty of people are still doing fine and there’s still a steady flow of tourists. Some residents and regular visitors will probably prefer the island being quieter anyway. The tourism profile has changed on Lanzarote, just about every industry’s profile has changed and you have to move with it or get left behind. In this case too many people were chasing the same tourist money and were unfortunately some were caught out when the squeeze hit. As I say it’s unfortunate, and maybe it’s not much consolation for the individual concerned, for some but Lanzarote tourism is no different to any other industry in this respect.
Ole

[GillianW2]

The world is a much smaller place now, let's face it. Air travel is easy and much varied. You can pretty well go anywhere from UK either directly or with only one stop.

You can go to the Far East, Oz, NZ, Caribbean even Hawaii for not a lot more than a fortnight in a Lanza Palace would cost you. :plane

People have more money to spend too, (or have had at least, if Mervyn King's gloomy statement yesterday is anything to go by!!!:omg ).

I think we are right to spread our wings a bit and head for faraway and new places, traipsing back to the same place year after year is all well and good but seeing new ones has a lot to recommend it.

And you never know - if we all desert Lanza for a year or two, airlines and the Councils may get their heads and acts together and make the island an attractive proposition again.

Maybe the bars are closing and ex Pats are throwing in the towel only because they are forced to, the businesses are collapsing due to poor visitor numbers and increased running costs. Trying to run a business abroad isn't much different to running one here I suppose, if the debits exceed the credits the only way is down.:cry I don't really think it happens every few years, I think it maybe happens in cycles in the sense that several places get a shot of being popular, e.g Cyprus and the Greek Islands were all the rage for a while but not so well visited now and I suspect Lanza has gone the same way. As someone said, it's too small to sustain continued interest for lots of people. But there are other small islands so it must go deeper than that. Maybe there aren't enough varied resorts, regular visitors tend to favour one of the three well known ones, and even become almost "institutionalised" into a type, be it a PB type (usually personified as a middle aged professional who values sophisticated upmarket stylishness) or a PDC type (usually personifed as a hard drinking, footy shirt wearing blue collar worker) or a CT type (usually personified as a beach loving surburban family with 2 young kids). And I sometimes think Lanza takes itself a bit too seriously, it all gets a bit intense with the Ceasar Manrique angle etc.

Living there has never appealled to me personally, Britain is my home and despite everything it will always be so!


By the way, I agree totally with Candeltias, far from being the chavs destination of choice Majorca is one of the classiest spots to visit and has the advantage of being close by. Personally, I rate it very highly.:clap

[oleoleole]

Quote :-
"be it a PB type (usually personified as a middle aged professional who values sophisticated upmarket stylishness) or a PDC type (usually personifed as a hard drinking, footy shirt wearing blue collar worker) or a CT type (usually personified as a beach loving surburban family with 2 young kids)"

What a load of prejudiced nonsense !

Ole

[peggy]

Flights are more expensive because now they are now charging for the baggage :omg
I remember the first time I did a DIY to Lanza in 2001 the flights cost £250pp. The apartment £250 pw, the price for the apartment is still the same in 2008. Since then I have never paid over £130pp,for flights.
Maybe we are just finding cheaper places to go to.

As for the British bars, nothing personal, but, I try to avoid them. I live next door to a pub so a Brits bar is the last thing I want on holiday, give me tapas anytime.

[weymouthuk]

Originally Posted by peggy

Flights are more expensive because now they are now charging for the baggage :omg
I remember the first time I did a DIY to Lanza in 2001 the flights cost £250pp. The apartment £250 pw, the price for the apartment is still the same in 2008. Since then I have never paid over £130pp,for flights.
Maybe we are just finding cheaper places to go to.

As for the British bars, nothing personal, but, I try to avoid them. I live next door to a pub so a Brits bar is the last thing I want on holiday, give me tapas anytime.

Thanks Peggy, Interesting response. Like you I find hotels to be about £250.00 and flights also £130.00. Still sounds pretty reasonable to me which perhaps suggests that prices are going up on the island i.e cost of a meal out, cost of drink etc?

[weymouthuk]

Isn't the response to this problem something like:

1. Clean up the streets, its a gorgeous island and stunning destination, let it shine through more.
2. Bars & Restaurants, stop being greedy and robbing the tourists of their hard earned euro's, drop your prices a bit (we all know its one rate of locals and another for visitors anyway!)
3. Advertise the freshly cleaned up island and emphasise the reasonable hotel, flight and food & drink costs.

Could it really be this simple?

[oleoleole]

Yes I partly agree.

Speaking from a PDC perspective, which is the resort I know best, most of the problems as I see it are quite minor (with the exception of a drainage problem, but I don’t know much about that).
Fill in the holes on the pavements, sort out the kerbs, get rid of the streetside wheely bin sites (on side and back streets) and make it a condition of licence for any commercial building to be adequately maintained where the building is within general tourist access (just about everywhere in PDC). Not a big deal, just maintain building frontages, properly whitewashed and no little unmaintained patches and corners.

I actually don’t find bars and restaurants expensive, certainly not by comparison with the UK and don’t search out the cheaper establishments. I pay between €1.50 (£1.02) €3.50 (£2.39) for a cold beer, though I have to admit that spirits and bottled drink prices seem unnecessarily high. Supermarket prices are getting a bit silly as well. Restaurant prices and quality are way better than South Manchester.

I’m sure the tidy up would help to make PDC a more enjoyable resort but I’m not convinced it’s really going to have a massive effect on tourist figures.

Ole

[Anne Bond]

I'd love to know where you guys purchase flights to Lanza for £130.00. We fly from Gatwick and even booking five months in advance, our flights cost £160-£170, and yes I did shop around :tft
As previous people have pointed out, the world is shrinking and flights elsewhere are much cheaper now. We paid the same for two flights to Menorca as for one to Lanza.
By the way, if you're going to categorize people, then the ones who go to Puerto Calero are old farts who used to go to Playa Blanca, but think that it's too commercial now. (Based on looking in the mirror before someone takes umbrage:wnk )

[weymouthuk]

Hi Anne

Easyjet from Gatwick to Arrecife (about £134.90 return) in August mind you.

That said, I scrapped the idea of easyjet when I discovered the scrum for seats on the plane!

Carl.

[peggy]

I usually book with Monarch or XL, from Manchester. Last year I booked with Skyscanners, I went out with Thomson's and back with First Choice. I almost booked in December, I found flights for £125 with Monarch that was from Birmingham. I'm lucky to have a choice of airports withing a couple of hours drive.

Sign up with Monarch for their offers, they have them from time to time.

[ILUVLANZ]

Originally Posted by weymouthuk

Hi Anne

Easyjet from Gatwick to Arrecife (about £134.90 return) in August mind you.

That said, I scrapped the idea of easyjet when I discovered the scrum for seats on the plane!

Carl.

Could you post a link where you saw that easyjet price Carl? I can only see prices double that!

[tony]

Just a comment on the apparent drop in visitors & businesses struggling; If this is the case why are property prices staying so high? I would have thought that along with so many complexes being "residential" so cant (officially) be rented & the apparent drop in popularity of the island, the property prices would be plummeting by now.

[Anne Bond]

Hi Peggy

I'll go on Monarch's site and sign on with them.

:ty

Anne

[weymouthuk]

Originally Posted by ILUVLANZ

Could you post a link where you saw that easyjet price Carl? I can only see prices double that!

Hi

I just went on www.easyjet.co.uk, selected the UK site and put London Gatwick in the outbound box, Lanzarote in the Destination box and my dates which are end of August (Easy flys out of Gatwick on Thursdays and out of Lanzarote on Thursdays). In fact todays price 28/08/08 - 11/09/08 is total £125.72!! Get Booking m'dears :-)

Carl.

[weymouthuk]

Hi Tony

Thanks for the comment, I would have to agree with your question. My Father was gutted to leave PDC a few weeks ago to come back to the UK. He's been living out there a good few years but as an Electrician and General Maintenance type person he was unable to find work.

In some ways I wish I was a Millionaire so I could throw some money at the Council and start getting all businesses on board with a plan to clean up the island, get people to drop prices, talk to the holiday firms and get some advertising going! Why do I want to do all this? Well, I bloody love the island and hate to think its going south.

Carl.

[oleoleole]

Quote :
"Just a comment on the apparent drop in visitors & businesses struggling; If this is the case why are property prices staying so high"

Tony,

That I cannot understand at all !!

I've heard some explainations about 'authorities' (not sure who they are , banks, builders, Ayuntamiento ?) offering some sort of incentives and inducements but I just can't see how that works, the fact remains though that property prices remain high despite what appears to be a worsening supply and demand situation.

Quote from Anne :
"then the ones who go to Puerto Calero are old farts who used to go to Playa Blanca, but think that it's too commercial now."
lol lol

Thanks for clearing that up, as a blue collared hard drinking footy shirt wearer I was struggling to sober up enough to work out who went to PC.

Ole

[GillianW2]

Originally Posted by weymouthuk

Hi Tony

Why do I want to do all this? Well, I bloody love the island and hate to think its going south.

Carl.

Well Carl there are two ways of looking at this. ;)

If the island loses popularity you as a lanzalover will have the beaches to yourself, no queues for taxis on a Thursday at the airport, no queues at checkin when you head back home and plenty of restaurants (all dropping their prices) to choose from.

Sorry :blush - I know I am being a bit facetious (in the same way as my "personfieds" were yesterday:blush ) but for every cloud there has to be a silver lining. And maybe if the island was "Coventry-ised" for a year or two it might work!!

On another subject, but as an example I got an email the other day suggesting that we as a nation of drivers boycott the big fuel suppliers, Shell and Esso, for a week and go to smaller suppliers in an effort to force prices down.:) Same idea, but somehow unlikely to work methinks.

But the Lanza boycott might.


Sorry to go off topic

[oleoleole]

Quote
"If the island loses popularity you as a lanzalover will have the beaches to yourself, no queues for taxis on a Thursday at the airport, no queues at checkin when you head back home and plenty of restaurants (all dropping their prices) to choose "

Gillian,
Very true and not at all facetious I don't think (and as you may have realised I'd probably let you know if I thought it was lol).

I had tried to be a little sympathetic to the plight of people who have struggled to make a living over there (allbeit trying to put it into perspective at teh same time), but being selfish then having fewer people around is great for me personally.

Ole