2023.07.08
In the middle of summer, a Mediterranean breeze blew through the traditional and lively buildings of Madrid, Spain, where a significant event was unfolded. The WTA•Dialogue for China-Spain Tourism Cooperation, within the framework of the China-Spain Culture and Tourism Year, assembled distinguished guests from the tourism sectors of both countries, joining efforts to discuss cooperation in tourism, revisit traditional Sino-European friendships, and proactively contribute ideas for the global revival and sustainable development of the tourism industry.
Seizing New Opportunities in the Sino-European Tourism Market Towards a Shared Revival and Bright Future
As gentle streams are not obstructed by stones, so sincere friendships do not wane with distance. At present, the global tourism industry is at a critical historical juncture of accelerated revitalization while facing an increasingly complex international development environment. This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Spain, making it an opportunity to host the China-Spain Culture and Tourism Year, an important consensus reached by the heads of state of both countries. Participants expressed optimism regarding the recovery of the Sino-Spanish tourism market and anticipation for deepening bilateral tourism exchange and cooperation.
Isabel Martin, Secretary-General of the Spanish Tourism Authority (TURESPAÑA)
The arrival of Chinese tourists contributes to the sustainable development of Spanish society, economy, and environment,” said Isabelle Martin, Secretary-General of the Spanish Tourism Authority (TURESPAÑA). She expressed a warm welcome to Chinese visitors, stating that China, as the world’s largest source of outbound tourists, is an essential emerging market. According to a study by Global Blue, before the pandemic outbreak, the return rate of Chinese tourists in Spain was 38%, exceeding the European average by 10%. Data from travel operators shows that Spain is the fourth-largest travel destination for individual travelers in Europe, with a market share of 18.8%.
Eduardo Santander, Executive Director of the European Travel Commission and Vice Chair of WTA
Beyond Spain, tourism cooperation has always been one of the most active areas of bilateral cultural exchange between China and Europe. Data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China shows that in 2019, Europe was the second most popular destination for Chinese outbound tourists and accounted for 13.2% of foreign tourists to China, likewise ranking second. Eduardo Santander, Executive Director of the European Travel Commission and Vice Chairman of the WTA, said, “The Chinese market is a huge market that is crucial for Europe as a tourist destination. Europe and China are vital sources of tourists and destinations for each other, and the potential for tourism cooperation between the two is tremendous. We attach great importance to the Chinese market and hope that the number of tourists can return to 42% of pre-pandemic levels this year.”
Rosa Ana Morillo – Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Spain
The promising vision for China-Europe tourism cooperation stems from the recovery of global tourism market. “After three years of ‘repression’ caused by the pandemic, the Spanish tourism industry is strongly committed to fully restoring China-Spain tourism cooperation” said Rosa Ana Morillo, Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Spain. She added that Spain highly values China’s significant role in the global tourism industry and is confident about the future of Sino-Spanish tourism cooperation. Chinese tourists have a keen interest in exploring foreign cultures and cuisines, and they value environmental protection and a shared experience between host and guest – all qualities that align perfectly with Spanish expectations. Spain is confident in welcoming more Chinese tourists in the future.
Jane Sun, CEO of Ctrip Group
The changes in the global travel market are felt most directly by businesses. Jane Sun, CEO of Ctrip Group, one of the world’s largest international travel companies, mentioned, “The travel industry has shown tremendous resilience during the recovery from the pandemic.” Ctrip, in association with the World Travel and Tourism Council, forecasts that the global tourism industry is expected to grow at a rate of 5.8% annually, far exceeding the expected global GDP growth rate of 2.7%. By 2032, growth in tourism will translate into 126 million new jobs. The outbound tourism market in China is showing a trend of accelerated recovery, contributing to the revitalization of the global tourism market and injecting momentum into world economic development.
Rafael Fernández, Director of Airport Operations and Network Department, Spain
Rafael Fernández, Director of the Spanish Airports Operations and Network Department, echoed these sentiments. Spanish Airports and Air Navigation (AENA), one of the world’s largest airport operators by passenger traffic, currently operates 46 airports in Spain, with 80% of tourists visiting Spain via AENA-operated airports. He stated that developing air connections with China is a priority for AENA. The company’s medium and long-term strategy will focus on two fundamental pillars: expanding direct flights between China and Spain, and promoting transit connections between Latin America and China via Spain.
Tini Sevak, Vice President of CNN International Commercial
“I firmly believe in the power of travel: through travel, we can learn and explore new cultures,” said Tini Sevak, Vice President of CNN International Commercial, expressing that the tourism industry and travelers are adapting to a new normal. Despite experiencing flight cancellations, luggage delays, along with concerns about country lockdowns and fluctuating travel restrictions, people are rebuilding their trust in travel.
Creating More Convenience and Better Experiences for Bilateral Tourism Cooperation
Panel Discussion- New Demand, New Supply (H1)：Changes in demand and product development strategy for the outbound market from China to Spain
In response to the new changes and trends in the China-Spain and China-Europe tourism markets, both sides are taking more proactive and effective measures to further promote bilateral tourism cooperation, aiming to quickly restore and even surpass pre-pandemic levels.
“At present, Spain’s goal is to restore Sino-Spanish tourism exchanges and cooperation to 2019 levels as soon as possible,” said Isabelle Martin. There remains a significant gap between the needs of Chinese consumers and what Spain offers in terms of shopping, food, cultural heritage, and natural resources. To this end, the Spanish Tourism Authority (TURESPAÑA) is launching a “Chinese Market Restart Plan.” This includes hosting Spanish Food Week activities in Beijing, holding exhibitions in Shanghai, launching live programs of related routes on Chinese social media, heavily investing in online marketing on Chinese OTA platforms, and creating audio-format Chinese tourism guides for the Spanish tourism reception departments.
Guided by the “China Market Restart Plan,” various Spanish tourism organizations are implementing strategic measures to attract more Chinese visitors. Javier Fernández, Director of International Tourists and Luxury Expansion at El Corte Inglés, shared measures tailored to Chinese visitors’ demands: first, improving digital payment capabilities, such as electronic payments, cashless payments, credit card consumption; second, enhancing service quality by providing Chinese language signage and improving the image of reception personnel. Rafael Fernandes stated that the Spanish Airport Authority is promoting four basic measures: first, strengthening cooperation with airlines operating routes between China and Spain; second,refining market intelligence analysis; third, introducing incentives to reduce the overhead of opening routes; and fourth, improving signage and commercial activities, etc., to make Spanish airports more accommodating to Chinese passengers’ needs.
The depth of bilateral tourism cooperation between China and Spain largely depends on the depth of cooperation between travel agencies in the two countries. HE Jingwei, Vice President of UTour Group, looks forward to collaborating with Spanish tourist destinations to deepen resource and information sharing across various aspects such as hotels, catering, attractions, leisure, and history. They plan to prioritize product stratification in the future, creating a more diversified, high-quality tourism product system and emphasizing the layout of mid-to-high-end product lines to meet the demands of different consumer levels in China.
Panel Discussion- New Demand, New Supply (H2)：Business solutions to the most frequent weaknesses/problems of Spanish tourism to China
“Overseas tourists visiting China are highly satisfied with their tour in China, and in the short to medium term, much more Spanish visitors may travel to China than expected,” said WANG Wei, President of Spring Airlines. As one of the safest countries in the world, China needs to develop higher-standard tourism products, enhance the construction and promotion of pristine natural scenic areas, such as Mount Everest, the sources of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, among others.
LI Xinyu, Vice President of Ctrip Group, proposed three suggestions: first, improving the global online tourism platforms; second, rebuilding reception capacity of China’s inbound tourism industry chain; and third, enhancing China’s tourism image through global online tourism platforms.
“In the post-epidemic era, factors encouraging Spanish tourists’ travel to China mainly include the promotion of the destination image and the convenience of visa application,” said ZHANG Shigang, deputy general manager of CTG Travel Services Co., Ltd. He suggested to adhere to the tenet of “Shaping travel with culture and highlighting culture with travel,” aiding the construction of related industry chains, carrying out product development, innovating service experiences, and better satisfying the needs of Spanish tourists.
“Actions are initiated by oneself, but reputations are formed by others.” As WU Ruoshan, director of the New Era Culture and Tourism Research Institute and a special researcher at the Tourism Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, noted, to truly bring the hearts and sentiments of tourists from both countries closer, it requires the persistent efforts of both governments and industry practitioners. They should provide more convenience for the frequent exchanges between the two countries, and play a vital role in enhancing China-Spain people-to-people exchanges and promoting emotional exchanges among the public.
Analyze Trends and Upgrade Methods to Meet New Trends in Tourism
Panel Discussion-New strategies, New trends：Trends, integrated development of culture and tourism, niche markets and Generation Z traveller groups
In the future, global tourism modes and consumer demands will continue to evolve. How to understand the travel trends and consumption habits of Chinese and Western tourists has been a topic of concern for industry practitioners.
—— More Diversified Leisure Activities: According to Tini Sevak, CNN’s data shows amidst the “unconventional” travels, slow travel and flexible travel are on the rise. Travelers are looking for more sustainable travel options, and holiday healing has become a popular choice. According to research by Expedia, 46% of global travelers are more willing than ever to enjoy a healthy holiday, and leisure tourism accounts for 80% of the total tourism volume. Mika CUI, co-founder of Qyer.com, suggested that from the content and data on Qyer.com, it can be seen that travelers’ play modes are trending towards quality, intelligence, youth, and diversity, featuring upgrades in quality, smart IT infrastructures, traditions, and outdoor exploration.
—— Higher Quality Tourism Demand. As the standard of living in China continues to improve, Chinese tourists are looking forward to innovative and personalized tourism products. TONG Teng, Vice President of Fliggy Travel, suggested that tourist destination countries should further optimize the visa process by speeding up visa processing and develop customized routes for the Chinese market, such as football watching, cultural arts and other themes, to encourage more Chinese tourists to choose Spain as their first stop in Europe. GUO Dongjie, Chairman and CEO of Huacheng International Travel Service Group Co., Ltd., believes that the overall customer base presents a “two-tier differentiation” feature, with the number of young Chinese tourists born after the 1990s rising and their travel demands placing more emphasis on safety, quality, and experience. Future development lies in new ways of playing, new themes, niche tourism, and new marketing methods, which requires active innovation in developing tourism routes, integration of aesthetic, cultural, and sustainable thematic elements, and enhancement of product core value.
—— More Digital Forms of Product Supply and Demand. With the development of the Internet, especially mobile internet, product supply and service provision for tourism are swiftly transitioning to digital empowerment, accelerating the integration of online and offline resources. Ana Lafúente, the Tourism Counselor of the Spanish Consulate General in Guangzhou, suggested that with the vigorous development of digital technology and industry in China in recent years, new modes and scenarios of tourism have been created. Spanish tourism practitioners should conduct more field visits to China to experience the application of digitalization in tourism and improve the digital supply capability of Spanish tourism products. HUANG Jingru, Vice President of Guangdong China Travel Service Co., Ltd., suggested enhancing product visibility and communication through social media seeding, topic marketing, and VR digital virtual reality.
—— More precise tourism marketing: Bilateral tourism exchange and cooperation depend on a precise understanding of destination and source market. Enrique Ruiz de Lera, Deputy Director of the Foreign Marketing Department of the Spanish Tourism Authority (TURESPAÑA), mentioned that China, as an emerging outbound tourism market, has different tourist needs from traditional tourist source markets. He hopes to deepen cooperation with tourism agencies in China to make tourism promotion precisely reach Chinese tourists. Héctor Coronel, Director of the Madrid City Tourist Office, is pleased to see the resilience and vitality of China’s tourism industry. Madrid will look from the perspective of Chinese tourists, encouraging tourists to express the beautiful scenery they see in more diverse ways and attracting tourists to discover this unfamiliar but exciting city in a more precise manner.
Globalization is an irreversible trend in human history. As stated by Su Shi, the famous ancient Chinese poet, “These we can take freely and enjoy forever; these are inexhaustible treasures supplied by the Creator,” and Cervantes, a renowned Spanish author, “God sends the dawn, it is a gift to all”, natural resources are valuable to human and tourism is a bridge for the dissemination of civilization, cultural exchange, and the enhancement of friendship. We believe that as Sino-Spanish tourism exchanges and cooperation continue to deepen, it will allow more tourists to appreciate the beauty of culture and the refinement of spirit in the enjoyment of nature, injecting powerful momentum into the mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples.