Apartment accommodation on the up in the Canaries
According to the latest figures released by ISTAC, the Canarian Institute of Statistics, 33 million overnight stays were made in apartment accommodation throughout the Canary Islands in 2013, an increase of over 1.8% compared to 2012.
- 33 million overnight apartment stays made in 2013, up 1.8% on 2012 (ISTAC)
- English dominate with 11 million overnight apartment stays in 2013
- Apartments at Sun Park Living, Lanzarote fully booked for 2013/4 winter season
A popular winter sun holiday hotspot, 3.2 million overnight stays in apartments (as opposed to hotel accommodation or with friends and family) were recorded in December 2013 alone with the Islands welcoming both international and domestic visitors alike.
By nationality, once again English visitors dominated with 11 million overnight apartment stays in 2013, followed by the Nordic nations at 6 million. A trend attributed to the overall increase in tourism to the islands over the last 12 months.
Gil Summers, Co-founder and Co-owner of Sun Park Living, a Summers’ Village, a private gated apartment resort dedicated exclusively to active over 50s on Lanzarote, comments,
“2013 was a record year for the Canary Islands as a whole with 10.63 million foreign visitors arriving on our beautifully sunny shores. Lanzarote welcomed almost a quarter, at 2.1 million, with British tourists dominating, at nearly 1 million, followed by the Irish, French, Russian and Italian visitors, where there´s been a significant gain.
“ISTAC reports a 4 point increase in apartment occupancy rates across the Canaries for 2013 compared to 2012; in Playa Blanca, the south of Lanzarote, occupancy levels were up at 88.62% in November last year. At Sun Park Living, we´ve been fully booked for the entire 2013 winter season and, today, a year ahead of next winter, we have already reached almost full capacity for the 2014 season so we are very happy indeed.”
So what makes apartments such an increasingly popular accommodation option?
In Gil’s eyes it´s all about the magic combination of safety, affordability, comfort, convenience and flexibility. In this specific case, Sun Park Living is about creating a home from home for all guests, he explains,
“Compared to a traditional holiday accommodation in a hotel, apartment accommodation offers visitors the opportunity to relax and set the tone to their own stay. Today’s travellers want variety and experiences, as much as the freedom to explore and enjoy on their own terms and not be restricted by set meals, closing times, daily intrusions in their space, or even being bombarded with repetitive entertainment. Touristic hotels usually operate a 7 or 14 day stay model, and travellers spend most of their time within the complex, with no need or interest in eating out and experiencing the local cuisine and culture, and hence missing out on everything the island has to offer.
“By comparison, apartments, by their nature, lend themselves to longer term stays. They are usually set within a resort enabling guests to make use of the communal facilities such as the swimming pools and recreation areas, and meet with like-minded people as and when they wish. The apartments are more spacious than hotel rooms and feature kitchen areas to prepare you own food, to your own liking on your own timescales. And additional services, such as laundry, housekeeping, transfers and even doctor services can be arranged of course.
“At Sun Park Living apartments we go the extra mile by offering guests a breath of fresh air, they get a wonderful community spirit, the complex is very safe and is quickly becoming the ideal meeting point for community minded singles and couples. We have also recognised the need to go beyond the expected and necessary; going back to our initial point of “creating a home from home” we have made it possible for all our guests to arrange for long term storage, enabling them to keep their cherished personal belongings in the complex, travel light, and have their things always ready when they return to the resort.
“This apartment style accommodation is particularly popular with older British guests, we are seeing ever increasing numbers staying for 4 to 6 months or even a year at a time, many even changing their lifestyles completely, by renting out their home back in the UK to come to live here and spend holidays back at home with the family, making this a great option for anyone considering an over 50s senior gap year”.
So if you are over 50 and looking to meet like-minded people with whom to spend a long term in sunny shores then why not consider a long term stay at a Sun Park Living apartment? Become a ‘SunRocker‘ today for an affordable year-round rate of €625 for each four-week (28 days) stay.
Alternatively, if you are thinking of visiting Sun Park Living for the first time to see it this is for you, the rate for a Taster Week is only €250.
For more information visit the website at www.sunparkliving.com or call 0161 408 3360. You can also follow Gil and the team on Twitter or Like them on Facebook.