Its been a difficult year for many. All over Europe the economy has been turned on its head. Countries requiring bailouts, companies making redundancies and yet little Lanzarote has still recorded an increase on tourist figures from 2010.

Thanks to its climate and close proximity to the Sahara Desert, Lanzarote is an all year round holiday destination, and very popular with people looking for either Summer sun or a Winter break. The three main resorts of Puerto del Carmen, Costa Teguise and Playa Blanca offer tourists an excellent choice of 5 star luxury hotels, apartment complexes and private villas.

The Centro de Datos, has reported that foreign arrivals through Lanzarote Airport (ACE) for 2011 are up 17.82% with foreign tourists accounting for an 18.81% increase against the period of January to October in 2010.

So why is Lanzarote doing so well?

There are few candidates for reasons as to why Lanzarote has had such a good year. Over the last 12 months we have seen a number of airlines ,such as Jet2, increasing the number of scheduled flights being made to Lanzarote. Naturally, this has helped the island become more accessible to more people.

The Lanzarote tourist board are also upping their game in terms of marketing, not only the island, but the resorts, events and attractions within.

Its not just the British....

It isn't only the British Tourists who are deciding that, no matter how difficult times are financially, they will not relinquish their summer or winter breaks in the Sun. Indeed, this trend follows similar patterns across debt stricken Europe with German, Irish, Swedish and Italian tourists all flocking to the island. During October Italian tourists to Lanzarote increased by a whopping 393.90% with a recorded 4188 tourists in October 2011 against just 848 in October 2010.

And this is welcoming news for Hotel and Villa owners. The increase in tourist numbers has naturally meant to an increase in accommodation occupancy. Recorded occupancy rates for October were up 7.7% on 2010 . Out of the three main resorts, Playa Blanca recorded the highest occupancy figures for October with 82.59% across hotels, villas/bungalows and apartments.

As Lanzarote continues to enjoy such a great year its focus now turns to the busy festive season as people around Europe look to swap the commercial Christmas environment of Europe for the more subtle approach taken by the Spanish residents and businesses of Lanzarote.