First came the pandemic, then the volcanic eruption on La Palma. In recent years, the Canary Islands have suffered one blow after another, significantly affecting its tourism, the Community's economic engine, which accounts for 35% of the regional GDP. To reverse the losses of 2020 – visitors fell by up to 71% – and 2021, the Ministry of Tourism and Employment has opted for a strategy that goes beyond the brochure or the commercial and moves into “voluntary consumption” of entertainment dares. The result is “Discovering Canary Islands”, a reality show in which eight participants from eight countries discover the attractions of the islands through tests and which celebrates its second season this Friday after being the most viewed content on Rakuten in 2022.
“Advertising is usually very intrusive and attacks potential customers with interruptions at certain times. We are interested in finding a moment of communication in which the audience is more receptive to the messages,” explains Elena González Vázquez de Parga, Head of Marketing and Communication Projects for Tourism in the Canary Islands. The public institution has decided to invest in this strategy together with the Mediabrands agency. In an apparent international projection, “Discovering Canary Islands” can be seen in 42 European countries via the TV platform Rakuten and was recorded in English.
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The program consists of seven episodes in which participants get to know one island through physical challenges and adventures per episode: Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro. This year they come from Italy, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Germany and France and their profiles are very diverse: from a 56-year-old model to a 27-year-old ex-military actress.
More than 400 hours were recorded with images full of mountains, forests, jungles, beaches, cliffs and sea, because the aim of the program is to make the island the protagonist. “We want people on the Canary Islands to be able to experience, experience and discover everything. The islands are a well-known tourist destination but they are usually reduced to sun and sand, which they are, but there is much more in terms of gastronomy and cultural identity. Showing that through a traditional campaign wasn’t enough for us,” says Poncho García-Valenzuela, executive producer of the series. The Tourism-led production chose to film in “lesser-known” locations to give a complete picture of the community and not be summarized in the typical stereotypical images. “It was very important for us locals to bring our own vision and choose the image we want to project,” says González, who provided traditional legends of the places that act as the series’ common thread. Some of the locations that will appear in the series are Charco de la Novia (Lanzarote), Salinas del Carmen (Fuerteventura), Acusa Seca Caves (Gran Canaria), Acantilado de Los Gigantes (Tenerife), Los Llanos de Aridane (La Palma ). , Garajonay National Park (La Gomera) or Charco de los Sargos (El Hierro).
The presenter of “Discovering Canary Islands”, Pilar Rubio, and the head of marketing and communication projects for Turismo de Canarias, Elena González Vázquez.Jose Gegundez
Repeat the success of the first season
Discovering Canary Islands had more than 46 million viewers in its first season and was Rakuten's most-watched content of 2022. 80% of viewers who started watching finished it and 3 out of 4 viewers want the Canary Islands Their next destination is , according to the manufacturer García-Valenzuela. How much has the program influenced your recent visits to the islands? It cannot be precisely determined, but what is certain is the high number of visitors that the municipality recorded in 2023, with more than 1.7 billion visitors, a number that is higher than the 2019 figures.
González attributes the increase in part to the behavioral change caused by Covid. “The trip is now a priority. For example, now I prefer to go on vacation before buying a chair; “The priority of travel has increased.” He adds that they have been particularly affected by the pandemic-related disruption, as restrictions were only lifted late on the British market, the islands’ main audience: “All this has its reward in 2023 found where people were not only willing to visit, but also spend more money.”
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