It is backed by the UN World Tourism Organization. More than 20 universities from around the world will take part, presenting research, communications and papers, and will bring together experts from different fields related to the tourism sector to debate the state of the art of this industry and the challenges it must face.

In addition to Natalia Bayona, the opening session included the participation of the Rector of the University of La Laguna, Francisco García; the Vice-President and Councillor for Tourism of the Island Council of Tenerife, Lope Afonso; the Councillor for Tourism and Employment of the Regional Government of the Canary Islands, Jéssica de León; the Councillor for Tourism and Trade of La Laguna City Council, Estefanía Díaz; the President of the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation (Cehat) and Ashotel, Jorge Marichal; and two of the members of the organising committee, Professor Tom Baum from the University of Strathclyde (Scotland) and his counterpart from the University of La Laguna, Eduardo Parra. 

The Rector reflected that tourism is part of the Canary Islands' past but, above all, will be part of its future, and acknowledged that debates have arisen around such issues as gentrification and rising rents. "In this context, denying the importance of tourism in our society would be as blind as denying that debates on the production model exist and are crucial”. For this reason, he called for academia to address these analyses and provide expert knowledge to contribute to finding solutions. Francisco García recalled some of the services that the University of La Laguna is providing in relation to the tourism sector, many of them in collaboration with other institutions, such as the activity of the Institute of Social Research and Tourism; the Chair of the sector that it holds with Ashotel; another Chair recently created with the Regional Government of the Canary Islands and the University of Las Palmas on data applied to tourism; the collaboration with the municipality of La Laguna in the development of its Strategic Tourism Plan; and the participation of many of its researchers in the Tourism Monitor of the Canary Islands. 

The Vice-President and Councillor for Tourism of the Island Council of Tenerife, Lope Afonso, reflected that, since this scientific meeting was last held 20 years ago, many changes have taken place in the tourism sector, an emergence of the industry that has allowed Tenerife to bed down its status as a competitive destination, which brings with it associated commitments and challenges. In his opinion, the conclusions of this forum can be used to improve the way in which we grow, to organise the arrival of visitors and to involve the whole of society in the benefits produced by this activity, which can also be used to guarantee the sustainability of the territory, said Lope Afonso.

The Councillor for Tourism and Employment of the Regional Government of the Canary Islands, Jéssica de León, stated that it is necessary to put an end to "short-term thinking" in the sector in order to improve its quality and sustainability. She also referred to the Chair recently created by her department together with the two public universities in the Canary Islands as an opportunity to improve research, knowledge and decision-making, a path that had already begun with the creation of the Canary Islands Tourism Monitor, which forms part of the international network of monitors in this sector - Insto. She also stressed that "tourism is not an end in itself, but a tool for improving the lives of Canary Islanders". For the regional councillor, "the conservation of the territories is the only guarantee for preserving the activity, but also the community. Tourism is an industry that will never be the problem, but the solution”.

The President of Ashotel and Cehat, Jorge Marichal, stressed the idea that "tourism must be sustainable or it will not be" and accordingly, his organisation already has a sustainability plan that accommodation establishments are applying. Jorge Marichal explained how sustainability has focused on a specific aspect over time: in the 1970s, it was focused on the economy, and once a certain boom was achieved, the emphasis was placed on the environment, and now it is the turn of social development. With regard to the debate on the production model, he said that it was a problem of "success management", as negative situations have arisen as a result of "doing things well". Accordingly, he called on the university to collaborate with the sector and to help dignify it. 

For her part, Estefanía Díaz, La Laguna City Councillor, welcomed all those attending the municipality and hoped that the meetings will be an organisational success, while the two representatives of the organising committee, Eduardo Parra and Tom Baum, recalled the history of this scientific event that emerged in 1994 as a forum for reflection on the situation of the sector at a given time, which, on this occasion, focuses on such issues as governance, sustainable and inclusive growth, the labour market, the ecological transition, smart tourism, digitalisation and even the development of La Palma after the volcanic eruption.

Natalia Bayona

During her speech, the Executive Director of UN Tourism explained that the debates on some of the problems associated with tourism development have not only arisen in Spain but are global. The senior executive of this international agency highlighted Spain's role as one of the leading countries in the sector and, with regard to its future, she disclosed three factors that will determine it: education, in order to have better-trained professionals who aspire to develop a long-term career; social innovation, to involve local communities in tourism activity; and data collection and management, to improve decision-making.

She also referred to the negative influence of the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, which may seem distant, but "are not so distant and affect confidence and security, without which it is not possible to have a stable sector". She also took a favourable stance on the collection of tourist taxes. Natalia Bayona listed some figures to characterise the sector globally. Europe was the world's most visited area in 2023, with 55% of inbound tourists, followed by Asia and the Pacific (18%), America (15%), the Middle East (7%) and Africa (5%). As for Spain, it received 82.2 million visitors, 14 million of them in the Canary Islands, so it is possible to speak of a full recovery in tourism since these figures are, in fact, 2% higher than before the pandemic. 

The speaker placed great emphasis on the importance of investment, and, in this regard, Spain is also a leading country, with investments of 18 billion euros in the period 2018-2023, not just in Spain but throughout the world. She explained that investment can be seen as a way of international cooperation and that many Spanish hotel companies are diversifying their offer in countries that are still emerging destinations, such as Albania and Tanzania, thus contributing to their development. 

The sector's challenges are common worldwide, and she cited some of them, including the saturation of some destinations, the lack of involvement of local communities and sustainability. Regarding short-term rentals, she quoted that they have increased globally by 25.7%, so, in her opinion, countries need to regulate them properly and tax them. She gave the more radical example of New York, whose legislation has totally banned them, but in any case, it is a decision that each destination must take.

Sustainability and innovation

The day continued with discussions with sustainability and innovation as their central themes. The Sustainable Tourism-Environmental Responsibility and Ecological Transition round table included the participation of José Juan Lorenzo, from Promotur-Regional Government of the Canary Islands; Rachel Dodds, from the Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (Canada); Christoph Kiessling, from Loro Parque Fundación; and Luigi Cabrini, from the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. Enrique Ruiz de Lera, from Turespaña, moderated the round table.

This was followed by the round table Tourism on the 2050 horizon, with the participation of Dimitrios Buhalis, from Bournemouth University; Antonio Santos del Valle, from Think Tank Tourism and Society; and Alicia Fajardo, from The Travel Foundation. Roberto Sandulli, from the University of La Laguna, moderated the round table. 

Vertical forums

The afternoon session was rounded off with the so-called vertical forums, in which tourism-related issues were discussed and proposals for tackling them were addressed. The forums were divided into the following topics: Collaborative governance and smart tourism; New leadership and sustainable and inclusive growth of tourism; Labour market and competitive transformation of destinations; Tourist destinations, environmental responsibility and ecological transition; Product intelligence, marketing and tourism; Digital transformation and digitalisation of tourism; and La Palma: the future of tourism after the volcanic eruption. 

The day closed with a session entitled Marketing Intelligence and Tourism, which included Antonio Sánchez from Visit Benidorm, Anil Bilgihan from Florida Atlantic University, Ulrike Gretzel from the University of Southern California, and Irene García from Mapfre. Jorge Núñez, CEO of AdQuiver, moderated the round table.

More information: https://tenerifetsa2024.com/