The goal is to provide Spanish companies and institutions specialising in business and meetings tourism with access to the Chinese market - one that is complex but with enormous potential for development in Spain.
At these events, 21 Chinese travel agents from Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and the Pearl River Delta region will visit the most attractive destinations in Spain for their sector (Madrid, Seville and Valencia) and will attend meetings with representatives from 43 companies and Spanish destinations: 17 agencies, 13 hotel companies, 9 public promotion and convention bureaux entities, 4 transport and procurement companies and 1 winery.
Chinese tourism in Spain
The Chinese market is undergoing a rapid and far-reaching transformation around the world. The number of overseas trips by Chinese tourists has grown from 48 million in 2009 to 120 million in 2015.
As far as Spain is concerned, a total of 374,000 Chinese tourists visited the country last year. Their main reason for travel was leisure (78% of the total) but business trips also account for a significant 14%, only behind Japan and Portugal.
Furthermore, 2016 was a major turning point in terms of air connectivity between Spain and China. The number of direct routes rose from only two (Beijing-Madrid and Beijing-Barcelona) to eight following the addition of new Madrid connections by China Eastern, Iberia, Cathay Pacific and Beijing Capital Airlines, a Shanghai connection with Barcelona by Air China that began on 5 May and the seasonal connection between Hong Kong and Barcelona by Cathay Pacific that will open shortly. This significant increase in direct flights is reflected in the air capacity forecasts, which show a noticeable increase for the coming months.
EFE