The Canary Islands Holiday Lettings Association (ASCAV) held the 1st International Conference on Holiday Lettings in the Canary Islands on Thursday 14th and Friday 15th October. The event was organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism of the Government of the Canary Islands, the public company Turismo de Tenerife and the Adeje Town Hall, as well as with funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Some thirty regional, national and international experts took part in the conference, which analysed how tourism demand has changed with the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the challenges and opportunities offered by this booming form of tourist accommodation. The event was held in the main auditorium of the Centro de Desarrollo Turístico de Costa Adeje CDTCA (Adeje) and was streamed on social networks.
On the opening day, Thursday 14th October, the President of the Canary Islands Government, Ángel Víctor Torres, the Minister of Tourism, Yaiza Castilla, the President of the Cabildo of Tenerife, Pedro Martín, the Mayor of Adeje, José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga, and the President of ASCAV, Doris Borrego, took part in the event. Experts from the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) and the Responsible Tourism Institute (ITR) also took part.
Similarly, the spokespersons of the major business associations in the Canary Islands and other autonomous communities contributed to the development of the event. These participants included the Federation of Business and Commercial Development of the Canary Islands (FEDECO), the Canary Islands Federation of Municipalities (Fecam) and the Association of Tourist Municipalities of the Canary Islands (AMTC), representatives of international holiday home associations and, on a national level, the Association of Tourist Homes of Galicia (AVITURGA) and the Association of Tourist Holiday Homes of Ibiza and Formentera (AVAT).
The coordinator of the business initiative “Parque Tecnológico Playa Paraíso”, Miguel Muñoz, attended both days of the event. On both days (Thursday 14 and Friday 15 October 2021), the speeches analysed the current situation of this real estate activity linked to tourism. On the first day, the most noteworthy interventions were by Fernando Manuel Gutiérrez, professor at the University of Misiones (Venezuela), who could not attend in person and joined the event by videoconference; Antonio Pedro Tejera Reyes, member of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO); and the presentation given by Pablo Heriberto Abarca Mora, who came on behalf of the government of Costa Rica, a country with extensive experience in this activity. Also worth mentioning was the intervention of Nancy Mejía, member of the Chamber of Tourism of Guatemala, who presented a paper focused on the changes that the tourism sector has undergone after the new post-covid normality and the role that holiday rentals will play in the future. Miguel Muñoz met one of the speakers, Roberto San Esteban, from the AVAT association, who works in the management of holiday rentals in Ibiza and has significant experience in this field. Another of the thematic blocks comprised the regulatory challenges posed by holiday rentals, with presentations by María Pilar Canedo Arrillaga (CNMC), Juan Franch Fluxá (UIB), María Elena Sánchez Jordán, professor of Civil Law at the University of La Laguna (ULL), and Javier Valentín Peñate, a lawyer from ASCAV.
The second day began with the thematic block “Challenges of tourism sustainability and economic diversification of destinations”, including speeches by David Pérez (CEO of the public company Turismo de Tenerife), the biologist Tomás Azcárate Bang, president of the ITR, Antonio Luis González Núñez, president of FEDECO, and Doris Borrego, acting on this occasion as a representative of the Círculo Turístico de Canarias (CTC). Another of the topics dealt with on this second day was the intervention of the municipalities to promote economic and social integration in tourism. The Mayor of Adeje, José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga, opened this second thematic block, expressing the need for holiday rentals to complement the existing tourist offer; and the Mayoress of Candelaria and President of the FECAM, María Concepción Brito, who explained how she intends to develop this economic activity in her municipality. Particularly noteworthy was the intervention of the Mayor of Arico, Sebastián Martín Pérez, who has developed a policy of managing holiday rentals to expand the range of leisure and accommodation on offer, creating wealth in the municipality. Alejandro Marichal Ramos, Councillor for Tourism, Town Planning and Environmental Policies of San Bartolomé de Tirajana (Gran Canaria), and Domingo Lorenzo, business executive and advisor to the Town Council of Tías (Lanzarote), continued this thematic block. Finally, the conference addressed the thematic block “Digital challenges, technological projects and export of knowledge to position the Canary Islands as a world leader in tourism”, with presentations by Yaiza Castilla, Councillor for Tourism; Natalia Bayona, member of the UNWTO, who took part via videoconference; Eduardo Parra, professor of the Degree in Tourism at the ULL; Miguel Lorenzo Salazar, coordinator of genomic research at ITER (Institute of Technology and Renewable Energies); and Javier Jorge Afonso, CEO of the company Tullaveonline.com.
On both days, the coordinator, Miguel Muñoz, shared experiences with the speakers and met Sonia Muñoz Guevara, writer and director of the digital magazine La Gatera Press; he could also appreciate the excellent service offered by the company Catering Altavista in the gardens of the Centro de Desarrollo Turístico Costa Adeje (CDTCA) throughout the event. Finally, on Friday 15th in the afternoon, after the closing of the event, he visited the Playa Paraiso area, where he enjoyed an excellent sunset at the Roca Negra Sunset Club.
Finally, regarding our business initiative “Parque Tecnológico Playa Paraíso” and holiday rentals, we would like to point out that in 2020 an American investment group became interested in the possibility of creating a complex of rural tourist villas in part of the perimeter area where the initiative is to be developed. This possibility was offered to the landowners. The images below show the area where this villa complex could be located.
-ASCAV celebrates on 14th and 15th October the 1st International Congress on Holiday Rentals. News published in the newspaper Digital Sur, the 11th October 2021:
ASCAV (Canary Islands Holiday Lettings Association)
Address: Los Olivos, Avenida Barranco las Torres, número 10, oficina 1, 38670 (Adeje, Tenerife)
Phone: +34 922 782 184
Email: info@ascav.es
Website: http://www.ascav.es/es/
La Gatera Press. Culture and news magazine (editor: Sonia Muñoz Guevara)
Website: lagaterapress.blogspot.com
Phone: +34 604 337 495
Email: soniplan2003@yahoo.es
Altavista Catering
Address: Calle Noruega, número 22, C.P. 36850 (Los Cristianos, Arona, Tenerife)
Phone: +34 922 966 441
Mobile phone: +34 659 971 956
Website: www.catering-altavista.es
Email: cateringaltavista@yahoo.es
EcoIbiza Villas & Concierge (manager: Roberto San Esteban)
Address: Avenida Juan Carlos I, s/n, Edificio Transat, Local 10, C.P. 07800 (Ibiza)
Phone: +34 971 302 347 / +34 971 398 079
Mobile phone: +34 608 525 071
Email: roberto@ecoibiza.com
Website: www.ecoibiza.com
Roca Negra Sunset Club
Address: Centro Comercial El Marqués, Avenida Adeje, número 300, C.P. 38678, Adeje (Tenerife)
Phone: +34 604 10 64 84
Website: https://rocanegra.es/
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| The coordinator, Miguel Muñoz, and the writer Sonia Muñoz, editor of the cultural magazine La Gatera Press. |
