Lanzarote News In Brief – Week 39

Two Huge Cruise Ships Visit Arrecife

The cruise ships Anthem of the Seas and MSC Virtuosa both docked in Arrecife over the weekend, bringing a total of 14,000 people to the island. Bothe ships will be docking in Arrecife several times during a winter season, which should see around 240 cruise ship stopovers in Lanzarote.

Highest Ever Ticket Sales For Main Attractions

More than 395,000 tickets were sold in August for the island’s main tourist attractions – Timanfaya, Jameos del Agua, Mirador del Rio etc – the highest number ever.

Canaries Exempt From Biofuel Flights

An EU regulation comes into force in 2025, which requires flights in Europe to use at least 2% sustainable, or bios fuels, rising to 70% in the year 2050. However, The Canaries, which are considered the outermost region of Europe will be exempt from the requirement. Bio fuel is currently between 3 and 6 times more expensive than conventional jet fuel, and its use on the longer flights to The Canaries is currently considered prohibitive.

In related news, The Canary Islands are seeking to become a producer of bio fuel for aircraft and cars.

“Zero Quota” For Newly Self Employed

The Canary Islands will offer newly self employed people zero payments on social security for one year, with a possible further free year, if they are earning below €1080 per month. The move is a bid to encourage more entrepreneurs to pursue their business objectives, putting them at the centre of the economy.

Manager Of Water Consortium Dismissed

The President of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort, has dismissed the manager of the Water Consortium, Domingo Pérez. He said that there is a need for a new organisational structure in the consortium. This follows a summer of cuts to water supplies after the failure of part of the desalination plant, and a water infrastructure that leaks almost as much as it is able to get to consumers.

Binter Canarias Back To Profitability

The airline turned over €300 million in 2022, recording a profit of €15 million. This follows losses made during then pandemic in 2020, and breaking even in 2021.

Newspaper Photos To Be Digitised

The Memoria de Lanzarote project has been given the task of digitising around 40,000 images from publications like La Voz de Lanzarote, Lancelot and Isla Informativa. The photos will be added to the existing online collection at Memoria’s website.

We’ll add more news here as it comes in during the week……

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