Oscillating tourism on Tenerife can be likened to the annual movement of tourism flow that lands on Tenerife year after year.
The number of visitors, or rather tourists, experiences more highs than lows, fortunately. This trend repeats itself annually and is directly related to certain periods within the year. This article does not take into account the rebound effect of the coronavirus pandemic, which dynamited this tourism oscillation movement for two years.
First phase
There exists something like an annual pattern that repeats the same movement every year, and the blueprints of which are almost a copy of each other every year, except for the fact that tourism grows every day.
When summer vacationers head back home, a new wave comes towards us. People who, for one reason or another, cannot take time off during the peak months of July and August, then create an Indian summer effect. Tourism does not come to a halt at that time. Seamlessly, an invasion of winter visitors begins. As the mercury drops in their home country and the first autumn storms announce themselves, many packs their bags and move en masse to an island where eternal spring also seems to last forever. They, in turn, revel in the climate and provide themselves with a carefree winter in this refreshing way. This is the first phase of oscillating tourism on Tenerife.
Winter
Within this period, there’s even a separate peak. Christmas and New Year’s elevate this high season even further. After all, who wouldn’t enjoy walking around in the last week of the year wearing a Santa hat while dressed in a skimpy outfit, basking in the sun’s thermal rays?
Indeed, this is how we like to hear it, and the hospitality sector does too. Then, it’s all hands-on deck in all establishments that need to nourish the inner person.
After the New Year, the winter visitors stay a while longer because then it’s worth staying. The cold and harsh climate back home keeps them at bay for a bit longer. It’s still too cold, too chilly, and too windy there. That concludes the second phase of oscillating tourism on Tenerife.
Spring
In early spring, after the crocus vacation has passed, the winter survivors call it quits. Family back home acts as a magnet pulling them northward. One by one, they trickle away and disappear into the north.
At that moment, a new flow starts. The Easter visitors arrive for a short period, allowing everyone working here to keep their jobs for a little longer. Only after that does the implosion happen. The winter visitors are gone, and so are the Easter tourists. They’ve left the island behind, leaving behind a vast gaping void.
Except for a few exceptions, no one finds their way to Tenerife anymore. They’ve either had their fill, or it’s yet to come, but during this period, there aren’t many takers. It’s as if Tenerife has been wiped off the map. Streets and squares remain empty, terrace chairs are still there but unoccupied, and the attractions suddenly lose their appeal. The island empties out. So much so that many hospitality businesses close their doors for a while and take-off themselves to catch their breath and also enjoy a well-deserved vacation and some uplifting rest.
This is the third phase of oscillating tourism on Tenerife.
Summer Vacation
The ‘vast gaping void’ could well be the title of a Spike & Suzy comic book but best describes this period that will last about a month and a half. At the end of June, beginning of July, the engine starts again, and the summer tourists reappear, first in dribs and drabs, then en masse.
This annual overview resembles the waves on an electrocardiogram, with the high season represented as the P-wave and the low season as the T-wave, the period in which tourism recharges before attacking the island anew.
When these take place can be perfectly deduced from the flight ticket prices of various airlines. During expansion, a one-way flight costs between twenty and eighty euros, but during contraction, those prices skyrocket, and you pay between 150 to 300 euros for the same flight distance, sometimes even more. And if you take a closer look at this electrocardiogram, you can see when the high seasons are approaching. That’s where the comparison ends.
COVID Years
Every year, the island faces the movement of this population flow. A current that runs parallel, with the graph lines on the annual blueprints being exact copies of each other.
Everyone hopes these lines won’t be interrupted, as this is vital for every resident, Tenerifian or not, who wants to get a share of the tourist purse.
Unfortunately, COVID-19 decided otherwise in 2020 and 2021. The coronavirus paralyzed Tenerife, the Canary Islands, and Spain, even shutting everything down completely. Tenerife was starved, and the essential tourist dollars were absent. A regrettable situation. Fortunately, this pandemic period is in the past, and the tourism cycle is once again proceeding at a normal pace.
Contraction or expansion… the island is once again ready to welcome its guests and infect them with another virus, the highly contagious Tenerifitis.
More TRIVIA can be read [HERE]
Pixabay © Photography
Oscillating tourism on Tenerife ©
Interested in Tenerife?
Subscribe to our newsletter and always stay informed about the news on Tenerife.
Enter your first name and a valid email address below. Then click on Subscribe.
