Fuerteventura, one of the Canary Islands of Spain, is a paradise for surf lovers. With its endless golden sandy beaches, crystal clear waters and ideal wind and wave conditions, Fuerteventura has become a reference destination in Europe for surfing. From beginners to professionals, this island offers a variety of spots for surfing … and blah blah blah (I took this paragraph from the GPT chat, look how easy it is to generate content for people who start surfing). This blog is oriented to shed some light on how the world of surf tourism is organized and how to make better decisions.
However this blog is aimed at more complicated aspects of this topic. Where the content of the blogs of most surf schools is approached from a perspective of creating SEO and really there is no real implication of showing critical content. But rather mainstream content and “choose your surf outfit for next season”.Even I have done it, imagine.
If we are increasingly aware of buying products and services that are more respectful of the environment and that in turn these companies behave or revert in a positive way to society. In leisure tourism, fortunately, this sensitivity is growing and there are already bets that try to move away from the typical behaviors of mass tourism that do not revert in the quality of life of local people or in the quality and safety of customer service, not to mention the negative environmental impact that can be generated. In short, the usual winners. In the following four points I make a small enumeration of the aspects that are important to know about the surf industry in Fuerteventura and around the free world.
1- You have to know what you are looking for: Do you want fast food or a good restaurant?
To make good decisions you also have to know what to look for. I find the fast food restaurants / surf schools metaphor very helpful. If you keep reading the blog you’ll see the parallels all the time. I can’t think of a better way to explain the reality of the surf leisure market through it:
Fast food companies are highly visible and hugely marketed, selling even an idea of happiness. And what are they? They sell junk food at a more than dubious price for the quality of the food and on top of that with questionable wage conditions for the workers. Small and good restaurants are harder to find and generally you will find them through different and more specialized channels or word of mouth. In a few words: if you want fast food and you accept it as it is, you will have no problem to manage in the reality of surfing, if you want a good restaurant you will have to sharpen your senses and move around until you find a good concept.
2- Ratios of one instructor for every 7 students.
It is really a fish that bites its own tail. Already from the beginning and valuing surfing as an extreme sport already gives us clues that this valuation is very oriented to a mass activity. I have been a surf coach for more than 10 years and I have repeated it in several blogs. Rarely (especially in the spots and waves of Fuerteventura) you can make surf lessons with these ratios and maintain the safety and quality that this sport needs. In any case these ratios only make the experience a bit dangerous and frustrating. In short and to make you understand. Any surf school that seeks to reduce the 1/7 ratio truly makes an effort to improve the quality of the experience. The more tourist or profit driven concepts will not hesitate to maintain the maximum ratio at whatever level they offer service. In short: go to surf schools that lower the ratio.
3- Instructors make 90% of it worth repeating in that school.
The surf instructor is the most vital and crucial part that will really develop the experience and subsequently the assessment of whether this experience was according to expectations.
I will tell you very clearly. Being an instructor in the vast majority of schools is not well paid if we contrast it with the degree of responsibility and the physical and psychological wear that teachers are subjected to (especially in high season and vacations). In the Canary Islands we are fortunate to have a very comfortable climate and the season lasts all year round. The surf teaching industry is closely linked to the patterns of the tourism sector in Spain. Low salaries and a hard physical and psychological pace of work throughout the year. In short, you will see that in the vast majority of schools the turnover of instructors is high. It is a clear sign that companies that offer low quality surf tourism experiences. They obviously get by the temporality of their monitors. This way they can pay lower salaries by not having to retain instructors that bring quality and stability. In short: look for surf schools that have on staff veterans who have been there for years. This is a clear sign that the school rewards good instructors and at the same time means that the company provides some stability to the instructor.
4- We are in a time where the truth is neither in google nor in the networks.
The big surf companies and those that offer more tourist experiences have a lot of power within the positioning in the networks and people specialized in marketing in the networks. Nothing wrong if this is really transmitted to the product itself. Surfing is a fashionable sport and always has been since the 60s.
Again I’ll make it clear. If you visit the social networks and the website of the concept and you see that everything is especially and pure surf lifestyle cliché. I would tell you to think that maybe all the money they invest in making it pretty doesn’t come back to the real part when you are there with your wetsuit on. Bottom line: look for the one that looks fresh and natural and without too much lifestyle.
This blog is oriented to shed some light on how the world of surf tourism is organized and how to make better decisions. a classic example this blog will have almost no visits and a blog “Fuerteventura the surf paradise, the European Hawaii” will have a lot of visibility and will not tell you anything that do not tell you 250 other blogs. It’s the same old story. Share it if you think it can help someone.
Buenas olas!
Jordi
