Professionals in Spain’s travel industry are delighted about China’s return as a major tourist destination for Spanish tourists.
At the recent B-Travel tourism fair in Barcelona, exhibitors showcased diverse tourism products and packages to promote travelling in China.
“Our tour operators and travel agents are developing products and packages … China has always been an important destination for Spanish tourists,” said Marti Sarrate, president of B-Travel and Spain’s Corporate Association of Specialised Travel Agencies.
“(After the pandemic) … we’re very happy that China has ‘reactivated’ because it represents a significant level of quality tourism and more Spaniards are now visiting China,” he added.
Spanish travel agencies also applaud China’s visa-free policy, which is seen as an incentive to revive the tourism sectors in China and Europe. China applied a visa-free policy for ordinary passport holders from five European countries in December, including Spain. The country has added eight more European countries to its visa-free policy list.
According to Spain’s tourism agency Turespana, over 60% of direct flights linking China and Spain before the pandemic have been restored. From March 31, Air China will have daily flights between Barcelona and Beijing while Cathay Pacific plans to restore direct flights to Hong Kong from Barcelona in June.
Data from the Spanish Statistical Office meanwhile says that over 380,000 people visited Spain from China last year. However, the figure is well below the level before the pandemic, when more than 700,000 Chinese tourists visited Spain in 2019.
“Chinese tourism is important for our region and is now in the process of returning to Spain, to places like Andalusia, Malaga and Costa del Sol,” said Jorge Martin, the president of the Axarquia-Costa del Sol town coalition, which is located in the southern region of Andalusia, one of Spain’s most popular tourist destinations. – Xinhua
