Jet2 chief executive Steve Heapy has written to the president of Lanzarote to ask for clarification over “inflammatory and offensive” comments suggesting the Canary island wished to rely less on British holidaymakers.
Dolores Corujo told trade conferences including ITB Berlin that Lanzarote aimed to attract more travellers from mainland Europe to reduce a reliance on mainstream UK tourists.
Preferred target markets delivering higher-spending travellers include Germany, the Netherlands and France.
Heapy told Travel Weekly: “We heard about what the minister had said at ITB in Berlin last week, so on Monday, I took the initiative and wrote to her, copying in all the hoteliers in Lanzarote.
“As the largest UK tour operator to Lanzarote, I contacted her for clarification over her inflammatory and quite frankly offensive comments about British tourists, to ask her what she means and to what extent she wants to reduce British tourism.
“It’s left the hotelier community asking the same questions.”
Canarian Weekly said Jet2 has 625,000 seats on sale to Lanzarote for this summer and next winter. The UK market is by far the largest to the island, with 1.3 million UK visitors in 2019 compared to 309,000 from Germany and 115,000 from France.
Jet2holidays works directly with 111 hotels and 46 villas across eight resorts in Lanzarote.
In his letter, Heapy said Corujo’s comments could have a detrimental effect on British tourists and asks for clarification over the term “higher quality tourism”.
The Tourist Federation of Lanzarote (FTL) echoed Heapy’s call for clarification, and distanced itself from the comments.
The FTL called on Corujo to explain her concept of higher quality tourism and urged her to “hold the necessary meetings with representatives of the British market” to reassure them.
A statement said: “We have always had very strong ties with the British market. Lanzarote is an absolutely hospitable island and will continue to be so for British tourists.”