Gran Canaria has officially set a new historical record for tourist arrivals receiving 4,587,000 visitors over the course of 2017, which represents an increase of 8.6% over the previous year with and 363,900 more visitors having chosen to visit the island than the 4,223,100 people who arrived in 2016, according to the latest report prepared by the Canary Islands Institute of Statistics (ISTAC).

The number of people who have chosen to spend their holidays on Gran Canaria has increased by a whopping 23% in just two years, that is to say 870,000 more visitors, so the Cabildo de Gran Canaria is seeking to consolidate these spectacular figures with an increase in tourism spending, at destination, so as to ensure a model of sustainable tourism, said head of the Gran Canaria Tourist Board, Inés Jiménez.

Gran Canaria has been the island in the archipelago that has experienced the highest growth in foreign arrivals during 2017 with 10% (+360,000) more international visitors than in 2016, marking a new and historic record figure with more than 4 million international visitors to the island.

The Nordic countries combined are confirmed as the primary market for Gran Canaria in 2017 having exceeded one million tourists to stand at 1,030,000 visitors from Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark together, having an enjoyed an increase of 9.7% (+91,300) since the year previous .

German tourism numbers also exceeded one million visitors to reach 1,011,000 tourists with growth of 5.5%.

The British market increased by a massive 13% (+102,000) bringing 890,000 tourists from the UK by the end of last year.

British arrivals have more than doubled over the last 3 years, increasing by 52% (+300,000)

More than half a million tourists last year came from the Spanish mainland with the arrival of 550,000 domestic tourists.

Add to these outstanding numbers growth from France by 8.8% to exceed 108,000, further confirming the upward trend from a market that has quadrupled over the last seven years; visitors from Italy have doubled in six years, which means more than 110,000 italians chose Gran Canaria in 2017 a rise of 19.26%, 17,900 people more than the previous year.

From emerging markets, volume of tourists has grown by 23%, 86,000 more people, highlighting the increased impact from countries such as Portugal, Czech Republic, Poland, Switzerland and Hungary.

And as for the lowlands, more than 241,000 Dutch and 112,000 from Belgium traveled to Gran Canaria last year.