During his participation in a connectivity forum, the island representative highlighted that, despite existing good communications, it is essential to make adjustments and move towards a model based on strategic planning. He cited the need for better coordination of shipping and inter-island flight schedules to optimize travel between islands.
“"We live on islands, where almost everything depends on the outside, and we need boats and planes to develop."
The leader equated public transport with essential services such as healthcare, education, and welfare policies, recalling the isolation experienced by islands like La Gomera before 1974, with journeys of over ten hours to reach Tenerife.
Regarding the Canary Islands resident pass, it was noted that it represents an ongoing challenge to achieve its homogeneous use across all islands. Its positive impact in La Gomera was highlighted, where over 142,000 GuaguaGomera users benefited from this instrument last year.
Emphasis was also placed on the need for long-term infrastructure development planning, especially in light of population growth. Warnings were issued against improvising road or port construction, suggesting planning for 30 or 40 years to ensure sustainability and avoid collapse situations, as already seen on some islands. In this context, the situation of the port of Los Cristianos was denounced as unsustainable, reiterating the need for an underground access connecting directly to the parking area to improve its operability.
Finally, the improvement of direct connectivity between non-capital islands was proposed, to avoid journeys such as those from La Gomera to La Palma or El Hierro still having to pass through Tenerife. Concerns were also raised about the consequences of the war conflict on freight transport, indicating that its impact will become more noticeable in the Canary Islands if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened, and urged preparedness for future difficulties.
