- Up to €200,000 will be provided for each route created by the airlines, whose sales will be boosted by marketing campaigns in the countries of origin.
- This winter, the island is further strengthening its connection with the mainland, with 37.4% more seats available, while the connections programmed with foreign countries have fallen by 21.8%.
The Minister for Tourism, Industry and Trade for the Government of the Canary Islands has launched an initiative to encourage the creation of 18 new international air routes with La Palma.
Through the Canary Islands Tourist Board, up to €200,000 will be provided for each newly created route, whose sales will be reinforced by the implementation of marketing campaigns in the countries of origin.
During the summer, La Palma’s connection with foreign countries fell by 16.8%, a drop that is expected to increase in winter, with forecasts that it will fall to up to 21.8%. “Therefore, the purpose of this aid is focused on increasing international connections with the aim of attracting more foreign tourists,” explains the Minister for Tourism, Yaiza Castilla.
Up until now, a total of 204,267 participants have taken part in this initiative, 202 establishments have joined the program and 19,310 vouchers worth €4,828,500 have been activated, of which more than two million euros have already been used.
“Now is the time to prioritize connections between La Palma and European markets”, insists Castilla, who explains that the 18 routes that could receive these incentives have been selected both for meeting the legal requirements and others of interest.
“We have prioritized routes with capitals of countries that are not already operating in the islands, that belong to the main issuing markets, and even that have already had connectivity with La Palma in the past, which will undoubtedly facilitate their recovery”, the minister assures. The selected routes connect La Palma with Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
In addition, Canary Islands Tourism has selected routes in important cities in Germany and the United Kingdom, which have airports with a high volume of flights to the rest of the islands, that do not yet connect with La Palma, and it has also included other important markets such as France.
The announcement, which has already been sent for publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (Doue), is being carried out within the framework of the Flight Development Fund, authorized by the European Commission for management by Canary Islands Tourism.
In order for the incentives to be granted, a series of requirements must be met, among them is that they are exclusively international routes that are new to the Canary Island, La Palma or that the companies commit to operate the route for at least two years.
The maximum amount of the incentive may not exceed 50% of the airport taxes.
This will allow airlines the necessary time to plan and promote the routes.