Emergencies and Tourism announce coordination and protocols to protect tourists

The Emergency and Tourism departments have announced the creation of a joint work‑group and new protocols aimed at improving risk communication for the roughly 270,000 tourists who visit the Canary Islands each week. The move follows the four drownings in Tenerife (60 deaths so far this year) and was detailed by Minister Manuel Miranda in response to opposition questions raised in the Parliament.

New formulas for alert and pre‑alert communication

The ministries of Territorial Policy, Tourism, and Employment have introduced new ways to convey weather alerts and pre‑alerts to visitors, after incidents such as the 7 December sea‑swell that caused four drownings in a natural pool in Santiago del Teide (Tenerife).

“This is an issue that concerns our Government,” said Manuel Miranda, Minister of Territorial Policy, Cohesion and Water, during a session of the Canary Islands Parliament. He placed the initiative in the context of 60 fatalities recorded so far this year and noted that the current term has already introduced pre‑alert communications beyond emergency services.

The executive aims to establish stable channels for direct alert and pre‑alert communication to the weekly influx of tourists, in coordination with the tourism sector. In this vein, Miranda and Tourism and Employment Minister Jéssica de León issued an official note confirming a recent technical meeting with officials from both areas to advance the plan.

Workgroup and protocols to inform tourists of danger

The first phase involves:

• Creating a joint work‑group.
• Simplifying messages to make them clearer.
• Setting up information‑sharing spaces between departments.
• Compiling an updated distribution list, agreed with tour operators, to ensure alerts reach guests wherever they stay or travel within the archipelago.

In the second phase, the work‑group will:

• Design protocols that guarantee alerts reach visitors clearly and in their own languages.
• Explore the integration of new information‑technology tools for risk communication, without ever replacing the competent authority, as emphasized by the Tourism Minister.

“The portal holaislascanarias.com offers outreach material in 15 languages and recommendations for common risk situations,” noted Jéssica de León. She added that these contents are prepared with the advice of drowning‑prevention specialists to ensure messages are reliable and coherent.

Minister Miranda also affirmed that information campaigns aimed at residents will continue through conventional media, and he advocated for early‑age education on coastal risks. He linked these measures to the ongoing debate over the forthcoming Canary Islands Civil Protection System Law, which examines risk assessment in tourist zones and the development of specific communication and alert protocols.

Communication of alerts and pre‑alerts to tourists, in response to the PP

The proposal to improve alert and pre‑alert communication for tourists was raised in the Canary Islands Parliament in answer to a question from People’s Party (PP) deputy Carlos Ester.

According to several regional outlets covering the session, Minister Miranda connected the recent drowning deaths to tourist imprudence or lack of awareness.