The Cabildo de La Palma has announced the economic impact that the last edition of Transvulcania has had on the Isla Bonita. In this sense, the island president, Sergio Rodríguez, together with the CEO of Sodepal, Miriam Perestelo; the head of Sports, Yurguen Hernández, and the director of Corporación 5, José Miguel González, have presented the results of the report, which shows that the island achieved an economic return in terms of production of 8.39 euros for every euro invested and 5.06 euros in income for every euro invested.
Sergio Rodríguez explained that the main objective set by the current government team in this first edition of Transvulcania has been more than achieved, which was none other than to recover the event and give it back to the people of La Palma, ‘something that both the people of La Palma and the runners themselves have thanked us for, and which indicates that we are on the right path’, he stressed.
In this sense, the president also wanted to emphasise that the island corporation’s assessment, beyond an economic report that triples the expectations of this type of event, is to work to ensure that an event like this benefits the island and its citizens.
Furthermore, Rodríguez recalled that Transvulcania ‘is not only a sporting event that puts us on the international map in this field, it also has a close link with tourism, positioning La Palma and making it known to those who participate, to their companions and to those who watch the broadcasting of the event’, he added. This is something that is reflected in the 90% of participants who have said they will return to participate in Transvulcania and the more than 60% who have guaranteed that they would return to the island for tourism.
The president stressed that these are ‘very positive and important figures for everyone, but especially figures that encourage us to continue working and supporting events like this that help us to build tourist loyalty and consolidate us as a destination, something that is especially relevant in this process of social and economic recovery in which we are still immersed and in which we must continue working in all areas’.
Another important fact that this report shows is the level of satisfaction of the runners in this last edition, which is positioned at 8.8 points out of 10, which favours their participation in future years.
The director of Corporación 5, José Miguel González, for his part, detailed other elements that were extracted from the report developed by the entity, such as the fact that 80% of the participants in the last edition were men aged 43 and the accompanying persons were 73% women aged 41, both mostly from the Canary Islands.
In addition, the head of Corporación 5 explained that the figures show that the participants spent more than 4 million euros, with the main expense, almost one million euros, being spent on accommodation, followed by what was spent on catering, a total of 812,839.60 euros.
In this sense, both Sergio Rodríguez and José Miguel González highlighted the good reception that this last edition of Transvulcania had for La Palma, benefiting mainly the island’s society and positioning La Palma as a sports tourism destination.