La Palma pursues sustainable tourism model to ensure island balance

La Palma is pursuing a development model focused on sustainable tourism and territorial balance to ensure economic prosperity without compromising its natural resources or identity. Rather than adopting mass tourism models seen on other islands—which have reached 60,000 to 75,000 tourist beds—La Palma aims for a controlled, progressive increase in capacity.

The proposed strategy involves growing from the current 17,000 beds to a target of approximately 30,000. This threshold is intended to reach the critical mass necessary to attract tour operators and flight connections while maintaining a human scale. The model prioritizes non-hotel accommodations, such as rural houses, villas, and the renovation of traditional dwellings, to distribute economic benefits directly to local families and preserve the island's unique architecture and landscape. This approach also seeks to integrate tourism with the primary sector to support agricultural sustainability.