One hundred years of sun, beaches, culture and traditions. This could be a summary of life in the Canary Islands today, where tourism has grown from less than one hundred visitors a year at the end of the XIX century, to eleven million visitors at the start of the new millennium.

The development of the tourist industry in the Canaries dates back to the XIX century, when Europeans first arrived and began organising expeditions to the archipelago, as witnessed by their written records. The German naturalist, Alexander Von Humboldt, described in glowing terms the beauty of the Orotava Valley in Tenerife after his visit.

Once the first tourist developments were built, Canary tourism soon became big news everywhere, and has since become the driving force behind its growing economy.

The capitals of the two provinces, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, were the pioneers. They were chosen as the sites for the first tourist hotels because of their proximity to the ports, which were the sole means of entry at that time. Thus the Canary Islands took its first steps into the XX century with several dozen hotels, renowned throughout Europe for their quality: a feature that continues to this day.

After the First World War, action was once again undertaken to further develop the tourist industry. However, the real boom of organised mass tourism did not occur until the late fifties, thanks to the surge in charter companies and travel agencies.

Meanwhile, the demand was growing for new areas, where a year-round season could be possible, which led the industry to move from the cities to areas like Maspalomas in Gran Canaria and Playa de las Americas in Tenerife. The same thing was happening throughout the Canary Islands until the archipelago took on its present form: one immense nature park with all kinds of comforts that never cease to amaze visitors with its varied wealth of landscape and its eternal spring like climate.

Special thanks to The Consejería de Turismo y Transportes del Gobierno de Canarias