The boulevards are no longer
crowded.
deal of energy into boosting the image
of the islands. That is not surprising,
as tourism is essential to the economy
on both islands. Eighty per cent of the
inhabitants make their living directly
or indirectly from tourism and the
decline in tourist interest has trou
bling consequences. The spending
power of the local population is
decreasing.
The two islands have virtually no
exports: Tenerife mainly exports
bananas, Gran Canaria exports toma
toes. Their exports are insignificant
when compared to imports; almost
everything has to be shipped in. So the
number of importers and customs
clearance offices is almost countless.
And most of these products are des
tined for the tourists, as the Canary
Islands only have a total population of
1.1 million.
Choice
One product that is not imported
specifically for the tourists is
Heineken beer. For more than half a
year now Roel de Haan has been per
manently stationed on Tenerife as
area export manager for Heineken.
He has a simple explanation for the
choice that Heineken made: 'Tourists
come and are gone again two or three
weeks later. Our market is here on the
Canary Islands, and not indirectly the
home market of the tourist.'
Heineken has been represented on
the Canary Islands for more than
thirty years and in all those years the
company has focused on local consu
mers as its target group. The brand
grew steadily until the period of
explosive growth set in mid-way
through the 1980s. The strong
upsurge in tourist numbers had its
impact on the financial scope of the
local population. Heineken beer,
imported from Holland and with its
high quality image, became a popular
drink and one that consumers are
proud to be seen drinking.
Competition
But there are clouds on the hori-
21
W O R L D OF
HEINEKEN
