Canary Islands winter holiday prices have fallen by as much as third year-on-year as the industry faces suppressed traveller demand, new analysis reveals.
The average cost of a seven-night package to Fuerteventura departing between November 1 and the end of the year has dropped by 33%.
Prices to Tenerife have come down by 27%, Lanzarote by 24% and Gran Canaria by14%, according searches by consumers via holiday price comparison site TravelSupermarket across operators including Jet2 and Tui.
The falls come despite the Spanish Atlantic islands coming off the UK government’s quarantine list last week.
Tenerife is now the most popular destination for a winter sun break followed by Lanzarote.
TravelSupermarket travel commentator Emma Coulthurst said: “People who can afford to go away in autumn and winter tend to be willing to pay a bit more than they would for a summer holiday on the Med for the chance of a sunny escape from the British winter.
“Despite significant increased demand for holidays to the Canaries on the back of last week’s announcement, a lot of the travel industry is reporting that traveller numbers are less than half where they would be normally.
“A lot of competition in the market for business means you can find a seven-night package holiday from the UK to Tenerife starting from under £150pp at the moment.”
Covid means that the time between booking and going away continues to move ever closer.
Coulthurst added: “When a country goes back on the ‘OK to travel list’, we naturally see a surge in interest and bookings.
“Many holidaymakers are taking a calculated risk and hedging their bets that, if they go away soon after a country goes back on the ‘OK to travel to list’, their chosen holiday destination is unlikely to go straight back onto the quarantine list.
“We have seen that for Greek islands such as Crete and Santorini in the last month and with the Canary Islands in the last fortnight.
“There were families who booked last Thursday night for the Canaries as soon as they heard the news and flew out 36 hours later for half term.”