STORY: Tourism industry professionals in Spain expect more Chinese tourists
DATELINE: July 29, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:21
LOCATION: BARCELONA, Spain
CATEGORY: SOCIETY
 
SHOTLIST: 
1. various of Chinese tourists 
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Spanish): CHEN TINGTING, Tourist guide in Barcelona
3. various of group visiting the interior of the Sagrada Familia
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Catalan): EDUARD TORRES, President of the Executive Committee of the Barcelona Tourism Consortium
5. various of Chinese tourists
 
STORYLINE:
 
As the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic eases off, Chinese tourists are flocking to Spain.
 
Tourism industry professionals in Spain expect that this positive trend will boost the recovery of the country's tourism sector. 
 
SOUNDBITE 1 (Spanish): CHEN TINGTING, Tourist guide in Barcelona
"I've heard that large agencies aim to get through this year and then next year to get back to at least 50 percent of the pre-COVID levels, but I'm more optimistic because I see a lot of people in China really keen to travel after the pandemic."
 
Tourism agencies, cities and areas in Spain have organized various activities to attract Chinese travelers.
 
SOUNDBITE 2 (Catalan): EDUARD TORRES, President of the Executive Committee of the Barcelona Tourism Consortium
"Out of all the visitors we get, we would very much like the proportion of Chinese visitors to go up because they are visitors especially interested in culture, and visitors that put culture as a priority are those we want to see."
 
In 2019, the year before the pandemic, some 700,000 Chinese tourists visited Spain, staying an average of eight days and spending an average of 2,400 euros per person, according to data from Spanish authorities.
 
Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Barcelona, Spain.
(XHTV)