Air Canada has begun to fly regularly to Tenerife with its new direct routes from Toronto and Montreal, which strengthens the island’s international profile and opens the door to a greater flow of tourists from Canada and other North American destinations.
These connections are integrated into Tenerife’s strategy to diversify its source markets and consolidate North America as one of its priority focuses, both for its growth capacity and for the type of visitor, interested in quality experiences, longer stays, and a singular tourist offer.
The first plane from Toronto landed at Tenerife South airport on Monday at 9:10 a.m. and, after a few hours on the island, took off back to Canada with a Tenerife institutional delegation on board.
According to the scheduled program, the airline will operate four weekly frequencies in winter and three in summer.
The connection with Toronto will operate during the winter season, while the route with Montreal will begin next October 31 and will increase its activity in the summer months, according to the calendar announced by the company, the Cabildo states in a statement.
The vice president and Tourism councillor of the Cabildo of Tenerife, Lope Afonso, highlighted the relevance of this new air operation within the island’s international roadmap.
"The arrival of Air Canada to Tenerife represents a milestone for the island’s international connectivity and the culmination of years of work to open up new opportunities with a strategic market such as the North American one," he said.
Afonso added that these direct routes help strengthen Tenerife’s positioning "as a global, competitive and quality destination" and facilitate progress toward a tourism model based on diversification, sustainability and the attraction of travelers who value authenticity, culture and the excellence of the island’s offer.
The CEO of Turismo de Tenerife, Dimple Melwani, emphasized both the relevance of the new routes and the promotional and marketing work carried out in Canada and the United States.
"The arrival of Air Canada is an opportunity to continue positioning Tenerife in North America, a market in which we have been working for years through promotion and communication actions," she commented.
Melwani likewise highlighted the value of the meeting held in Montreal with representatives of the airline and with agents from the Canadian tourism and business industry.
"It has been a very important meeting for Tenerife, in which we have had the opportunity to share workspace with senior executives of Air Canada, representatives of the OET of Toronto, businesspeople and professionals from the tourism sector, as well as representatives of the Chamber of Commerce. This meeting allows us to strengthen relations, reinforce collaboration between both markets and establish new commercial alliances that can translate into business opportunities for Tenerife companies and the island’s economy," he said.
Promotion campaign and business opportunities
The head of Tourism of Tenerife insisted that the increase in air seats must be accompanied by an active strategy of promotion, communication and sales in order to make the most of the potential of the Canadian and North American customer.
Along these lines, she underscored the appeal of the island’s tourism product and Tenerife’s track record in key areas such as the audiovisual industry, MICE tourism and cruise tourism.
These segments make it possible to open new avenues to diversify the economy, attract higher-spending visitors and foster synergies between Canadian companies and Tenerife companies.
Melwani also highlighted the good rapport with Air Canada since the start of the talks, as well as the joint work with Turismo de Tenerife to organize the Montreal business meeting and prepare upcoming meetings aimed at strengthening cooperation between both markets.
From Air Canada, Alexandre Lefèvre, Vice President of Network and Global Planning, underscored the excellent reception of these new routes.
He noted that they are "extremely satisfied" with the market response to the inaugural flights from Montreal and Toronto to the island and that "the booking volume has been exceptionally high, which makes Tenerife one of our most successful launches in new markets. This momentum, together with the enormous support and involvement we have received from our partner Turismo de Tenerife, Cabildo and the local community, gives us great confidence in this destination. We are tremendously pleased to consolidate this success by establishing a permanent presence in Tenerife year-round, with the continuity of our route from Montreal through the summer," he commented.
Tinerfeña delegation and meetings in Canada
Coinciding with the start of operations, an island delegation headed by Dimple Melwani herself and part of her team traveled to Canada to hold meetings with representatives of the tourism and business sectors and explore new forms of cooperation.
Participating in the mission were Jorge Marichal, president of Ashotel and CEHAT; Victoria González, vice president of the Chamber of Commerce of Santa Cruz de Tenerife; Fedua El Gheriani, director of Isla Bella Resorts, and José Fernando Cabrera, CEO and owner of Luxury Tenerife Hotels.
The Tinerfeña representation held a working session at Air Canada's headquarters in Montreal with airline executives, institutional representatives and prominent professionals from the country's tourism and business sectors.
The objective of the meeting was to strengthen commercial ties between both territories and open up new avenues for joint collaboration.
On behalf of the airline, Alexandre Lefèvre, Vice President of Network Planning and Global Sales, attended, along with heads of Business Development and the Corporate, Regional, Global and Specialized Sales areas.
Also attending were the director of the OET in Toronto, Isabel Garcia, and representatives of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, the Tourism Affairs Consulate of the Embassy of Spain in Montreal, the Market Development and Sustainability Division of the City Council of Montreal, as well as associations, travel agencies, hotel chains and Canadian specialized media.
Among them were the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA-Quebec), the agencies Voyages Traditours, Wingbuddy, Sportvac Voyages and Voyages Endirect, the chain Meliá Hotels International Canadá and the tourism-specialized media outlet PAX News.
The event was jointly organized by Turismo de Tenerife and Air Canada with the aim of strengthening commercial ties, promoting the exchange of knowledge and detecting new business opportunities.
The new routes will also make it easier for passengers departing from Tenerife to connect with a broad network of destinations in Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, Central America and South America, taking advantage of the connections that Air Canada offers from its main hubs.