At current rates, by the end of 2009 the Canary Islands will have seen two million fewer tourists than in 2008, thanks to a reduction in the number of flights and the recession as a whole.  This loss of visitors translates to a loss of 50,000 jobs in the tourism sector and losses of some 1.5 billion euros, or 16% of business.

This is the 'dramatic' picture painted today by four major employers in the region - FETH (Las Palmas), Ashotel (Santa Cruz de Tenerife), Asolan (Lanzarote), and the Association of Hoteliers and Tourism in Fuerteventura, who projected occupancy rates of about 50% over the summer months, perhaps reaching 60% in August.

The president of the FETH, Fernando Fraile, revealed a 13-20% reduction in airline 'slots' over the coming months for the various islands and underlined the severity of the situation which is prompting employers to reduce staff 'until things improve'.

So far this year, the Canary Islands have lost 15% of their tourists compared with the same period last year, a trend which is also reflected in the length of people's stays and the number of visits.  The situation has already led to employers reducing prices in an attempt to be more competitive with other destinations.

Many Canary islanders are hoping that Zapatero's visit to the region will result in a 'complete removal of airport taxes' in an attempt to boost visitor numbers to the islands.  Many believe that the small reductions offered by the government so far and just not enough to make any difference.

The tourism sector is asking for the same 'residents'' discount to be applied to everyone flying to the Canary Islands from elsewhere in Spain, a measure that would cost the government 300 million euros, considerably less than the 4 billion euros it will cost them if 30% of the islanders end up out of work and claiming unemployment benefit.