GRAN CANARIA aGREAT international

Why is

tourist destination?

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01BASICINFORMATION ABOUTGRANCANARIA

Gran Canaria is one of the seven volcanic islands that make up the Autonomous Community of the Canaries. It is situated at a distance of 1,250 kilometres from Cádiz, the nearest continental European port, and 210 kilometres from the nor-thwest coast of Africa.

According to figures from the Canary Institute of Statistics, in 2017 Gran Canaria registered a census of 843,158 inhabitants, meaning that 40% of the total popula-tion of the Archipielago lives in the 21 municipalities on this island.

Its capital city, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is not just the largest city in the region, with 378,998 residents, but is also an attractive economic, cultural and administrative centre. 28% of all visitors who chose to come to the island for their holidays paid a visit to the city.

4.5 million tourists in 2017

Gran Canaria welcomed 4.5 million tourists in 2017, a figure that strengthens its position as a world tourist power, and one of the top holiday destinations for European visitors. Travellers come mainly from Germany, the United Kingdom, Scandanavia and Spain, attracted by a range of factors including the sun, beaches, natural surroundings, our local cuisine, the chance to do all kinds of outdoor sports throughout the year, an important historical heritage, our top cultural calendar, or simply to get away from the daily grind thanks to this cosy enclave, that offers an unrivalled climate compared to anyhere else around Europe.

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Leading source countriesfor visitors in 2017(number of passengers)

Places offered by accommodation establishments in Gran Canaria in 2017

Visitors coming in fromScandanavian countries in 2017 (number of passengers)

GERMANY

TYPE

NON-HOTEL

HOTEL

NORWAY1.011.967 349.084

SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES SWEDEN1.029.919 365.169

UNITED KINGDOM DENMARK889.884 186.021

SPAIN FINLAND549.425 132.346

OTHERS 1.106.381

4.587.576 1.032.620TOTAL TOTAL

* You can consult all the information concerning tourist arrivals at Gran Canaria at the Professional Area of the Gran Canaria Tourist Board website.

CATEGORY

Apartment

Hotel

21.636

28.665

36

28

201

94

5

625

69

341

54.503

2.803

64.754

60.478

181

62

859

189

70

1.318

150

602

138.280

9.617

460

142

19

2

168

8

5

18

30

22

3.003

2.129

Emblematic House

Emblematic Hotel

Rustic Acommodation

Inn

Holiday Home

Rural Acommodation

Rural Hotel

Villa

Urban Hotel

Total

TOTAL OFACOMMODATION UNITS

TOTALPLACES

TOTAL OFESTABLISHMENTS

The island offers endless possibilities to suit all tastes, and as such is the favourite destination for families, sportsmen and women, nature lovers or anyone else loo-king for a place to have a relaxing experience at the finest spa centres.

Gran Canaria has become a safe, close at hand holiday destination, based on a multiproduct portfolio, with high levels of customer service and a competitive range of accommodation establishments that are being constantly upgraded to adapt to clients’ ever-changing needs. These virtues have led the island to be-coming a top resort, that reaches its peak during the busy winter season, a time when millions of Europeans pour into the island to escape the cold back home.

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Air connectivity of Gran Canariain numbers (2017)

Passengers 13.092.117

Flight Operations 118.554

Tons of Goods Transported 18.045.279

Airlines 47

Countries

Destinations

25

148

Tourist expenditure in Gran Canaria increased in 2017 to 5.129 million euros. Each visiting tourist spent an average of 1,205.85 euros during their stay, the highest figure in the Canaries. Parallel to this, the tourism industry employs 23% of the labour force in a territory whose surface area (1,560 square kilometres) is slightly inferior to that of the city of London (1,572 square kilometres).

Travellers choosing Gran Canaria mostly rate its climate, safety, and the open character of its inhabitants. Its diversity led to 61% of tourists going on excursions to get to know the interior of the island, while 28% of visitors tried out the local cuisine.

Gran Canaria has 60 kilometres of beaches spread out along its 236 kilometres of coastline. Sixteen of these boast the blue flag, awarded every year by the Euro-pean Federation of Environmental Education, a fact which certifies the quality of its waters and infrastructures, and its suitability for bathing and water sports. The European programme has awarded blue flags to the sports marinas of Mogán and Pasito Blanco, and Blue Centre and Blue Hiking awards to the Visitor Centre of the Maspalomas Dunes Natural Reserve, in San Bartolomé de Tirajana, and the hiking path at Bahía de Confital and at Las Canteras Beach in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, respectively.

In terms of connectivity, in 2017 the island received flights from 148 airports from 25 different countries, placing the Airport of Gran Canaria in 6th place in Spain, with over 13 million passengers.

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VARIETY AS THE MAIN ATRACTION

Nevertheless, the popularity of Gran Canaria as a top tourist destination goes far beyond these figures. The is-land has shown at the international events it has promoted itself at the sheer versatility of its range of offers, as well as a flexibility capable of at-tracting all segments of society.

The first thing visitors should know is that the average year round tempera-ture of 24 degrees on thermometres in Gran Canaria are not just an essen-tial ingredient for enjoying an exten-sive variety of beaches. The seas that surround the island provide great fun for professionals and amateurs to go windsurfing, surfing, diving and sports fishing, along a safe coastline equi-pped with modern infrastructures.

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CULTUREANDLEISURE

Leisure options on the island are wide-ranging, from the Atlantic Mo-dern Art Centre (CAAM), the Canary Museum, the Columbus House Mu-seum, the León y Castillo House Museum, the Tomás Morales House Mu-seum, the Benito Pérez Galdós House Museum, and the Elder Science and Technology Museum. Gran Canaria is also the venue for important events such as the Transgrancanaria, the Canary Music Festival, and the Canaries Jazz & Más Heineken Festival.

The flexibility of these choices make Gran Canaria the ideal place for outdoor fun for all the family. Zoos, water parks, botanical gardens, camel rides and boat trips to go cetacean spotting are just some of the choices on offer to break with monotony along with the children.

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Gran Canaria is the top tourist destination for golf. The island has 7 very different golf courses all within a radius of under an hour’s drive. One of these is the Royal Golf Club of Las Palmas, the oldest in Spain, built in 1891 in Bandama, by reputable Scottish golf architect Macken-zie Ross.

The island offers a wide range of sports thanks to its climate, its oro-graphy and the multitude of landscapes that start high up at Roque Nublo and run all the way down to the fine beaches at Las Canteras and Maspalomas Dunes. The coastline is a sporting hotspot, with sports fishing, sailing, water speed-bikes, surfing, windsurfing and kitesurf. Jetskiing and parasailing provide high levels of adrenaline, while the wealth of wildlife on the seabeds are a great attraction for divers and sports fishing enthusiasts.

The mountains and ravines in Gran Canaria are like an open air gym-nasium that opens 365 days a year. The mild climate that rules the lives of people on the island favours physical exercise in natural su-rroundings, and attracts elite sportsmen and women who set up their training bases here.

The mountainous relief make for contrasting horizons, and are just perfect for hill-walking, climbing and mountain biking. An example of the excellent conditions on the island is its full calendar of mountain races, the highlight of which is the demanding Transgrancanaria.

SPORT

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Gran Canaria’s towns and villages offer the chance to discover their fine cuisi-ne, which is based on a rich assortment of locally sourced products. Top dishes include papas arrugadas potatoes, san-cocho and an array of stews and broths which are the perfect blend for a fine local meal, washed down with fine local wines with the island’s own Denomina-tion of Origin, plus extraordinary quality cheeses and the finest desserts from the island’s bakers. The Valley of Agaete cul-tivates the only coffee to be produced in Europe; the Arehucas Rum bodega is the largest and oldest of its kind in the who-le of the European continent, while the restaurants nestling on the coast provide superb local fresh fish from the Atlantic.

The island has joined in with the Saborea España initiative, which highlights the

wonderful establishments that make up the culinary range in Gran Canaria, the quality of the local chefs, and the endless possibilities offered by the tasty, locally grown ingedients.

Gran Canaria is also to appear at the 2018 Madrid Fusión, a world-class gastronomic event, which demonstrates how essential it is to promote the island’s cuisine as an original feature that sets it apart from other tourist destinations. Scenarios such as Madrid Fusión enable visitors to try out the quality of the superb products from the sea and the land in Gran Canaria, which in turn are a showpiece for attrac-ting tourists looking for new and different culinary experiences.

GASTRO-NOMY

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The Grancanarians have hospitality etched intrinsically in their DNA, and this is extended to the treatments they provide at the spa and wellness centres run by qualified professionals. Rest and health are guaranteed thanks to the different techniques on offer, from thalasso-therapy and massages to treatments using seaweed, marine mud and salt baths, among other therapeutical remedies.

The island doesn’t just offer its visitors peaceful surroundings and stun-ning landscapes in which to unwind and to escape the daily routine. It also shows itself to be a truly cutting edge location for fashion and design where shoppers can find top international clothing brands just as they would in other large European cities, with the added bonus of being able to get their hands on the fresh and original creations of the best local designers under the banner of Gran Canaria Moda Cálida.

Gran Canaria is also a highly sought after film location. The Gran Ca-naria Film Commission is working hard to make the island a top stage for a wide range of films. It is a superb natural film set which boasts a wonderful climate, allowing filming to be done all year round, and stunning contrasting landscapes. These have served as a backdrop for top films such as Fast and Furious 6, Allied, Acantilado, Los Últimos de Filipinas, Wild Oats, Palm Trees in the Snow and Down a Dark Hall, among others.

HEALTH

FASHION

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LEGAL SAFETY AND ECONOMIC INCENTIVES

Gran Canaria is part of the Single Eu-ropean Market to all effects, both in terms of the common currency and customs. Travelling to Gran Canaria therefore needs no different requi-rements than if you were flying from Barcelona to Madrid, or from Bilbao to Málaga. Its airport is situated just 18 kilometres from the island’s capital city, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and 25 kilometres from the tourist hots-pots to the south. The airport’s geo-graphical location and optimum me-teorological conditions contribute to it being considered one of the safest of its kind, and it operates 24 hours day and night.

As a Spanish territory, it maintains security standards on a par with an-ywhere else around the European Union. Its security levels in terms of health, food, environment and justice provide a solid base for the develop-ment of tourism, and are aspects that are highly valued by large tour opera-tors from all over Europe.

In 2016, The Canary Health Service be-came the first health system in Spain to from part of the European Food Sa-fety Authority, serving to strengthen the Canaries and Gran Canaria’s po-sition as tourist destinations offering the highest levels of quality and se-curity.

Gran Canaria is also a hotspot for sho-ppers, thanks to its wide choice of shopping centres and a fiscal system that provides low tax rates for consu-mers. The island boasts large shopping areas with all the leading national and international brands; visitors can buy from shops from the Ethnography and Development of Canary Crafts Foun-dation, FEDAC, TTthat sell traditional island items, while farmers markets and stalls open their doors for busi-ness over the weekend at the hillside towns and up at the summit, with the stand out markets being at Teror, San Mateo, Santa Brígida and Cruz de Te-jeda.

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HISTORIC, NATURALAND CULTURAL HERITAGEThe island’s geographical idiosyncracies and its unique terrain, which reaches a maximum altitude of 1,949 above sea level at Pico de Las Nieves, generate mi-croclimates which have led to the island being labeled a Miniature Continent. 42% of the land surface area and the marine coastline on the island was given special protection in 2005 by UNESCO with its declaration as a Biosphere Reserve, in re-cognition of the high levels of preservation and the variety of its species, as well as the sustainable development of its natural environment.

Tourists visiting Gran Canaria are naturally drawn to the climate, beaches and peace and quiet, yet when they venture northwards they find the ‘hidden gem’ of this part of the island. Here they discover new delights, from going for a dip in the secluded natural pools in Guía, seeing the Special Reserve at Los Tilos de Moya, the only laurel tree forest in Gran Canaria, visiting the Painted Cave Museum and Archaeological Park, to going around the beaches and steep cliffs in Agaete, stro-lling around the historical town centre of Arucas, losing themselves in the woods around Osorio in Teror, and going hiking along the Azuaje Ravine in Firgas. All these are stunning attractions that don’t necessarily appear in traditional tourist guides.

Gran Canaria is brimming with landscapes and natural areas that are just ideal for hiking, mountain biking, cycle tourism and climbing enthusiasts. The Nublo Rural Park and the Maspalomas Dunes Special Natural Reserve are the most representa-tive attractions, while the island also hides away in its interior a great biodiversity which can be captured from the 31 viewpoints dotted about the countryside.

Gran Canaria has the widest range of pre-Hispanic cultural and artistic content on the islands. The Painted Cave in Gáldar, an excavation of volcanic tuff rock, hou-ses ancient wall paintings in its interior, and is the most representative archaeo-logical settlement out of an ample network of vestiges that illustrate just what life was like for the first dwellers to inhabit the Canaries. Christopher Columbus stopped off in Gran Canaria on three of his four expeditions to America. The dis-trict of Vegueta is at the cultural heart of the capital, and houses a museum that

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carries his name, and offers an interesting collection of objects that showcase the links with the so called New World. The island offers visits to a diverse range of archaeological sites spread all over its territory, including Cenobio de Valerón (Santa María de Guía), the Roque Bentay-ga Visitor Centre (Tejeda), the Maipés Archaeological Park (Agaete), the Arteara Necropolis (San Bartolomé de Tirajana), Cañada de Los Gatos (Mogán), the Gua-yadeque Ravine Visitor Centre (Agüimes) and La Fortaleza Visitor Centre (Santa Lucía de Tirajana).

Gran Canaria has been declared a ‘Starlight Tourist Destination’ by the United Na-tions Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO). Astrotourism is one of the leading projects in Gran Canaria, which has launched into the conquest its spectacular night skies and is fighting against light contamination in an attempt to recuperate the right to observe the stars. The island is keen to get back the skies the aborigines used to see, with unique astronomic markers, and by opening new windows to knowledge.

Gran Canaria is one of the few places around the world, together with Hawaii, New Zealand and Chile, considered by UNESCO to be a ‘window to the sky’ due to the quality and clarity of the atmosphere that enables people to star-gaze, a pleasure which is in danger of disappearing around the planet.

To this end, this defence of the skies over Gran Canaria has become the basic pi-llar of intervention by the island authorities, while they are also striving to have the aboriginal archaeological settlement of Risco Caído, in Artenara, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, along with the Sacred Areas of Montaña de Gran Canaria.

Currently, one of the most original cultural attractions to be found in Gran Cana-ria is the ‘Sanmao-Echo Route of Gran Canaria’, an initiative which aims to pay tribute to Chinese writer Chen Ping. This literary novelist, who is famous back in her eastern homeland, lived for six years in the town of Playa del Hombre, in the municipality of Telde, during the 1970s. Sanmao is the writer of around 20 books, and the translator into Chinese of the popular Spanish Mafalda comic, so all this has moved Gran Canaria to honouring her memory with a didactic tour around her former home and the places she used to visit.

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Gran Canaria is a tourist destination that takes on the challenge of offering maxi-mum quality to its visitors, through new projects and investment that will gua-rantee its continual transformation. The Poema de Mar Aquarium is a top tourist attraction created by the owners of Loro Parque, and has just opened its doors in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, in a clear attempt by the capital to widen its leisure and entertainment offers.

This recreational site occupies some 8,500 square metres, and is divided up into three different areas, with a capacity to house 350 different species of animals. Its owners aim to attract 500,000 visitors a year, while its launch has generated some 200 direct and indirect jobs. The site is situated at the Port of La Luz y Las Palmas.Meanwhile, the area known as El Veril, in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, is set to house the Siam Park water park. This huge project is costing 60 million euros, and work has already started on preparing the land for it.

This latest leisure attraction will occupy a surface area of 175,000 square metres, and will feature slides, beaches, rivers, gardens, restaurants, a volcano and Thai temples, among many other facilities, to provide many hours of adventures for the whole family.

AN ISLAND UNDERGOING CONTINUAL CHANGE

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06The range of accommodation facilities in Gran Canaria are continually under-going improvements with the aim of keeping up with the needs of their clients and providing all the latest de-sign touches and latest technology.

The historic Santa Catalina Hotel has been the emblem of Gran Canaria’s capital city since 1890, and is cu-rrently undergoing important refurbi-shments, since becoming the property of the Barceló hotel chain, who will be adding the hotel to their luxury Royal Hideaway category. The hotel chain are set to invest 24.5 million in this project.

In the area around Puerto Rico a new 4-star hotel will join the long list of hotel establishments in Gran Cana-ria. The Nachosol Atlantic will begin its tourist activity following extensive refurbishments done on its facilities and 51 bedrooms.

In Arucas meanwhile the Emblematic Hotel has just opened its doors to vi-sitors. It has been awarded this em-blematic category because it is set in a building which is over 100 years old, and is located in the historic town centre. It has five bedrooms, two dou-bles and three junior suites, which through its ‘hotel boutique’ concept, offers its clients a wonderful location, superb design and a top quality custo-mer service.

Prestigious Scandanavian chain Ra-disson Blu has opened a second hotel on the island, at Puerto de Mogán, a well-known town because of its canals

INNOVATION

and characteristic architectural style, as well as for its beaches and fine cli-mate. The Radisson Blu Resort and Spa Gran Canaria Mogán is a 5-star establi-shment with 342 rooms and 80 suites that have their own private terraces, from where guests can enjoy the plea-sant climate and the ocean breezes.

Another of the latest events concer-ning the updating of accommodation establishments in Gran Canaria is the reopening of the Hotel Nayra at Playa del Inglés, a former 1-key bungalow complex which has been transformed into a 4-star hotel, with 92 beds and 46 luxury suites, entailing a total in-vestment of 3 million euros.

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The fiesta calendar kicks off with the celebration of the Carnival of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, quickly followed by carnival celebrations at nearly all the other towns on the island. This jubilant tradition is a hit with the international media, and dates back to the time following the Castilian conquest, and signals the start of a packed fiesta calendar.

The municipality of Tejeda, which has been declared one of ‘Spain’s Prettiest Towns’ celebrates its traditional Almond Trees in Bloom Fiesta on 3rd and 4th February. The town’s streets are decked out with stalls where visitors can try out their famous local pastries made with almonds, and marvel at the wonderful local crafts.

The coastal town of Agaete celebrates its Fiesta of La Rama on the 4th August every year. The town is one of the true symbols of Gran Canarian identity, and the main event on the programme is dedicated to the Virgin of Las Nieves, declared a National Fiesta of Tourist Interest back in 1972.

September is a good month for getting along to see a range of local traditions, as there are many significant events going on. These include the pilgrimage and reli-gious offering to the Virgin of El Pino, the patron saint of Gran Canaria (in Teror), the Fiesta of El Charco (in Aldea de San Nicolás), the Pilgrimage of Las Marías (Santa María de Guía), the Bringing of Gofio and Water (Agüimes), and the Pilgri-mage of the Virgin of El Rosario (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), which will see in the month of October.

EVENTS

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As for sports, every year the island holds top events that in some cases have at-tracted up to 7,400 sportsmen and women, such as the Gran Canaria Marathon, which takes place every January, and which is accompanied by other outstanding events for runners and mountain enthusiasts including the Transgrancanaria race, the International Tennis Tournaments ITF Gran Canaria and ITF Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, plus the Gran Canaria-Mogán Challenge, and the Tejeda Circu-lar. The ideal conditions for nautical sports have made Gran Canaria a venue for the Windsurfing World Championships, the World Bodyboarding Championships, and for those wishing to immortalize the amazing wildlife on the island’s seabeds can take photos and send them in to the FOTOSUB Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

In November, the island becomes the meca for world hiking with its Gran Canaria Walking Festival, which rounds off the year’s sporting calendar alongside the At-lantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), a regatta that joins Gran Canaria with the Carib-bean island of Santa Lucía, before drawing to a close with the Cycle Tourist Tour of Gran Canaria and the European Stand Up Paddle Championship.

Other interesting events to be held annually are the International Contemporary Dance Festival of the Canaries during Ocober and November, the Maspalomas Winter Pride, which attracted over 50,000 people from all over Europe last Au-tumn, and the year-end Christmas celebrations with the building of the ever-po-pular Sand Nativity Scene at Las Canteras Beach in the capital.

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…Gran Canaria is goes by the name of ‘Miniature Continent’ due to the huge variety of landscapes and cli-mates to be found on the island? On some winter days visitors can be on the beach with a mild 22º C, and then within the hour be up at the snowy summit with 0º.

DID YOU KNOW...?

…French pianist Camille Saint Saëns composed his work ‘Canariote Waltz’ following his first ever trip to Gran Ca-naria? He spent the winter period here and returned to the island on several occasions afterwards.

…Bristish novelist Agatha Christie tra-velled to Gran Canaria and stayed at the Metropole Hotel? She would sit out for hours on end and look out over the wonderfully peaceful sand and sea landscape. Some of her Hercules Poirot were written from her hotel terrace.

…American musician and composer, Leonard Bernstein, who wrote the original soundtrack for West Side Story, often visited Gran Canaria and stayed for long periods? The island will be celebrating the centenery of his birth in 2018.

…the Santa Catalina Hotel in Las Pal-mas de Gran Canaria was built with British funds and was inaugurated in 1890? Celebrated personalities from the world of culture and politics, in-cluding Sir Winston Churchill, María Callas and Gregory Peck have been guests there.…the Viera y Clavijo Botanical Gar-

den, in Gran Canaria, is the largest botanical garden in Spain, and it was Swede Eric Ragnor Svensson who was the inspiration behind it?

…the film Moby Dick, starring Gre-gory Peck, was filmed on Las Cante-ras Beach in 1954?

…the oldest golf club in Spain is in Gran Canaria? The Royal Las Palmas Golf Club is situated in Bandama and was built in 1891.

Patronato de Turismo de Gran Canaria

Triana 9335002 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Tel: (+34) 928 219 600Fax: (+34) 928 219 601

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