SPAIN MARKETS CULTURE TO ATTRACT HIGH-SPENDING CHINESE|端出歷史.文化吸客 西班牙搶賺陸客財

Tourists from around the world flock to Spanish coasts in search of sun, beach and sangria. However, during the quieter winter months, Spain's tourism revenue drops. Now the country is seeking to reinvent itself as a cultural tourism destination in a bid to attract high-spending Chinese tourists. Every summer, sun, beach, and sangria draw tourists from all over the world to Spain. In 2015 alone, the southern European country set a new tourism record with over 60 million tourists. Popular as it is, this big player in the tourism industry suffers a drop in tourism revenue during winter months. To become a year-round destination, Spain is attempting to market itself as a cultural destination for high-spending Chinese tourists, who spend an average of 1,000 euros per trip. ==RAFAEL CHAMORRO, Deputy Director, Institute of tourism of Spain== We are very interested in Chinese tourists because they spend a lot. They come for eight to ten days and they also spend in many areas. It's very profitable to have tourists that come all through January to December, as the Chinese do during their different holidays. Since 2012, China has been the largest source of outbound tourists in the world. Over 120 million Chinese went abroad in 2015, but only 400,000 visited Spain, another reason for the Spanish government to appeal to more Chinese new visitors. ==TOURIST== (Hola!) Hola, Hello, Ni Hao Chinese tourists enjoy Spain's cultural heritage, gastronomy and landscape over its traditional beach destinations. For example, the Prado Museum saw increased revenue from Chinese tourists over the past few years. Although the number of independent Chinese travelers is growing, Chinese tourists prefer to travel in groups because travel agencies can help them to get an EU visa more quickly. They also prefer to travel accompanied because of safety issues. ==LIU WENQIU, Cultural attaché of Chinese Embassy in Spain== We think that, in order to attract more Chinese tourists to Spain, travel safety should be improved. Both countries should work together to prevent luggage, money and identity documents from being stolen. This is a big problem for Chinese tourists. Moreover, safe transport is equally important. Starting from 2016, four new direct flights have been scheduled to connect Beijing and Shanghai to Madrid and Barcelona. By putting great effort into promoting Spain's rich culture and history, the Spanish government aims to attract up to a million Chinese tourists each year by 2020. TRANSLATED BY：ARIEL HSIEH