STORY: Small business owner sees recovering tourism in Spain
SHOOTING TIME: Dec. 12, 2023
DATELINE: Dec. 13, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:11
LOCATION: BARCELONA, Spain
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the La Boqueria market in Barcelona
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Catalan): EVA LUGO, Stallholder in Barcelona's La Boqueria Market
3. various of the La Boqueria market in Barcelona
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Catalan): EVA LUGO, Stallholder in Barcelona's La Boqueria Market
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (Catalan): EVA LUGO, Stallholder in Barcelona's La Boqueria Market

STORYLINE:

The return of foreign visitors to Spain from China and other Asian countries along with Americans and Europeans is the reason why many Spanish businesses dependent on tourism have been able to recover from the pandemic.

One such case is Eva Lugo, a resident of Spain's northeastern city of Barcelona who has a stall selling luxury items in La Boqueria market, one of the city's sites that is most popular with tourists from all over the world.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Catalan): EVA LUGO, Stallholder in Barcelona's La Boqueria Market
"This year we've seen a lot more Asian customers. Right after the pandemic, there were almost no Asians but this year we've seen a lot of Asian customers."

74.7 million tourists have visited Spain in the first 10 months of 2023, 18.2 percent higher than 2022, says the National Institute of Statistics.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Catalan): EVA LUGO, Stallholder in Barcelona's La Boqueria Market
"This year has been fantastic. For me, this has been the best year since the pandemic. And what's more, the tourist season has gone on for longer, because normally in November, and in December tourism goes down."

Eva describes the past two years following the pandemic as a "rollercoaster" that also affected her husband, who is a taxi driver dependent on tourism, but she says that she hopes the worst is now behind them.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Catalan): EVA LUGO, Stallholder in Barcelona's La Boqueria Market
"In January we closed for five weeks while work was done on the market, but since then we haven't stopped. Business has been really good and this is the year when I've noticed a real increase in tourism."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Barcelona, Spain.
(XHTV)