Tenerife is reporting a 12% increase in UK arrival numbers for 2011, with all-inclusive and cruise the key growth areas.
Speaking at a World Travel Market breakfast briefing, tourism minister Carlos Alonso revealed the Canary Island is close to matching UK visitor numbers from 2005.
The island’s arrival numbers had been deteriorating for about three years before April 2010, but already close to 1.5m Brits have travelled there this year.
British guests have made up 31% of 2011 arrivals, and Tenerife accounts for 45% of all British arrivals to the Canary Islands.
Alonso also revealed that the average age of visitors is slowly falling, now at 49, due in part to the growing number of younger couples – couples account for 57% of travellers.
Bookings are mostly online, with 67% of flights booked on the web and 44% of accommodation. Online research plays a role in 82% of trips.
All inclusive is the real growth area, up 27.8% on 2010. Cruise is also proving a key area of growth with 312,000 cruise visits in 2011 to date.
New initiatives for 2012 include the introduction of five volcano tours around the island, and a new focus on gastronomy.
The island also has a keen social media policy, carefully monitoring everything on the web in order to keep an eye on trends and respond where suitable to comments.