Residents in quite a few cities in Spain have been complaining about having too many vacationers in recent times. Local authorities and tourism boards consider the important thing lies in diversification, and Chinese holidaymakers may very well be central to this.
Residents of many common elements of Spain have been protesting towards overtourism for a number of years now, complaining about overcrowding, rising rental costs and rowdy behaviour.
However, some authorities and tourism officers need to appeal to but extra vacationers – particularly these from China.
If many locations are already affected by the variety of vacationers although – why does the nation need extra?
Experts consider that the important thing to fixing a few of these tourism points is to alter the present mannequin – this implies shifting away from providing low-cost package deal vacation offers to the costas, in addition to stag and hen dos and social gathering tourism, and concentrating on these travellers who’ve more cash to spend and go to extra inland cultural locations as a substitute.
So why Chinese vacationers?
A Chinese holidaymaker spends a mean of €2,958 throughout their keep in Spain, which quantities to about €288 per day, as their common keep is 10.3 nights.
Brits alternatively spend a mean of €1,151 and €166 per day as they spend roughly 6.9 nights, based on a report from journey market Fitur.
Americans additionally spend lower than the Chinese with a mean of €2,113 throughout their keep or €273 per day.
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Furthermore, the typical Chinese vacationer isn’t coming to Spain for solar or seashores – they’ve loads of that nearer in Southeast Asia.
Instead, they arrive to Xībānyá (Spain in Mandarin) for tradition and good meals. This means they’re staying away from the overcrowded resorts and choosing different locations to many European vacationers.
Typically, Chinese nationals keep in high-end inns somewhat than vacationer flats, one of many major gripes that locals have relating to the ‘touristification’ of their cities, as these vacation lets push up costs and rents.
Several Spanish cities have been open about their plans to focus extra on attracting Chinese guests. One of those is the historic metropolis of Toledo in central Spain, the place they need to “promote high quality tourism over mass tourism”.
The Castilla-La Mancha metropolis has not too long ago launched a marketing campaign to draw extra vacationers from Asian markets and have additionally despatched a delegation over to China made up of representatives from Toledo’s hospitality and enterprise neighborhood.
They additionally need to begin the method of twinning Toledo with Xi’an, residence of the well-known Terracotta Warriors.
Authorities Toledo have not too long ago been taking steps to restrict the affect overtourism is having on its outdated quarter, from limiting free tour promoting, to controlling tour group numbers and solely permitting one vacationer practice and bus.
This might show a problem vis-à-vis Chinese guests, as they have an inclination to journey in teams.
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Another metropolis wanting Far East for brand spanking new tourism markets is Gijón in Asturias.
In 2026, the northern metropolis’s purpose is to focus on the Chinese travellers and “discover this new market”.
Interestingly, Gijón would not undergo from the identical overtourism issues as different coastal cities in Spain, however they’re clearly seeking to appeal to a extra prosperous holidaymaker.
Even smaller cities corresponding to Talavera not removed from Toledo will this month obtain a Chinese delegation with the purpose of selling themselves within the Asian large’s tourism spheres.
A complete of 93.8 million overseas vacationers visited Spain in 2024 and of those, 647,801 got here from China, representing a 66.7 p.c enhance from 2023.
An enhance in flight hyperlinks between the 2 international locations has helped on this regard. Last yr, Air China resumed its direct route between Barcelona and Shanghai, and Málaga and Seville are negotiating to introduce a weekly direct flight to cities in China too.
Cathay Pacific additionally returned to Barcelona in 2024 resuming continuous flights between the Catalan capital and Hong Kong.
Sichuan Airlines inaugurated direct flights connecting Madrid with Chengdu, famed for its large panda bears, again in April of this yr.
And, China Southern Airlines will launch its first path to Spain this winter too with three weekly flights between Guangzhou and Madrid.
READ ALSO: Five details that can assist you perceive Spain’s Chinese neighborhood
