The car rental sector in the Canary Islands has seen a significant fall in business so far this year.
President of the Association of Car Rental Business Santa Cruz de Tenerife (ACOA), Luis Durango de la Rosa, said the general trend is downward and, despite variations across the islands, business was down across the board compared to the same period last year, which was down 20 per cent on 2010.
Smaller companies have taken the biggest hit it seems, with business down between 25 and 30 per cent, while larger companies have seen falls of between 15 and 20 per cent.
According to ACOA, the downturn is reflected in the sharp fall in new stock ordered by hire companies, which has fallen by 49 per cent in the year to September.
Durango said much of the blame for the dramatic downturn was a result of a sharp decline in visitors from the mainland and a general decline in domestic tourism.
Despite very positive signs in the hotel sector about the coming winter season, the car hire sector remains unconvinced that it can make up the ground lost throughout the previous nine months of the year.
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