Tourism in the Canary Islands

Tourism is an essential part of the economy of the Canary Islands,[4] a Spanish archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean, 100 kilometres (62 miles) west of Morocco.

The Canary Islands are a leading European tourist destination with very attractive natural and cultural resources.

[8] The Canary Islands continue to receive tourists from traditional markets and is experiencing the emergence of visitors from other countries such as Italy, France and Poland.

[14] Despite the relatively small area of the seven main islands (7,447 km2), they have very diverse landscapes, including long sandy beaches, spectacular cliffs, deserts, and woods.

There is another facility south of the main park where approximately 330 parrots species are kept and a breeding program takes place.

Other attractions in the park include alligators, gorillas, chimpanzees, jaguars, penguins, porpoises, Killer Whales, sharks, and tigers.

[4] Manrique created works in Lanzarote and the other islands,[4] including Jardin de Cactus, an amphitheatre-shaped garden with ten thousand cacti and stone sculptures.

[21] In late 2009 the Canary Islands Tourist Board launched a marketing campaign called "Operation No Winter Blues".

The campaign involves the 100 citizens traveling to 14 European destinations spreading positive news about the Canaries and lasted until mid December.

The 2023 report from Ben Magec-Ecologists in Action states "Uncontrolled, increase in the non-resident population of European origin, giving rise to completely overcrowded islands in which the generation of waste and the exploitation of resources cause an almost irreversible degradation of our natural ecosystems.