La Laguna Launches €1.4 Million Voucher Scheme to Boost Local Business
La Laguna City Council is investing 1.4 million euros into a new consumption voucher program that offers shoppers half-price credit to stimulate the local economy and support small businesses.
Tenerife’s local councils are increasingly using consumption vouchers to boost the economy, with the La Laguna City Council recently announcing the return of its popular commercial incentive program. The council is investing 1.4 million euros to inject cash directly into local businesses.
The program works by allowing shoppers to buy credit at half price—paying 10 euros for a 20-euro voucher. The Federation of Urban Areas of the Canary Islands (Fauca) will manage the logistics, including the registration process for local businesses. This year, the program is expanding to include tattoo studios, broadening its reach beyond traditional retail shops.
To ensure the vouchers are distributed fairly, each user is limited to five, and all purchases must be linked to a personal ID. While the exact launch date depends on how quickly businesses register, the council plans to release 70,000 vouchers, making this one of the largest initiatives of its kind in the Canary Islands.
This approach has already proven successful in other municipalities like Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Puerto de la Cruz, and Adeje, where vouchers often sell out almost immediately. These programs create a "multiplier effect," where public subsidies encourage private spending, providing a boost not just to the shops themselves, but to the surrounding hospitality and service sectors.
Beyond immediate sales, the goal is to help local high streets compete with large online retailers and big-box stores. As small businesses face rising operating costs, local authorities see these vouchers as a vital lifeline that keeps neighborhood commerce competitive and preserves the social and economic heart of the community.