Turespaña celebrates from October 12 to 15 in Hangzhou (China) a new edition of Spain Travel Market China, where about 35 Spanish tourism companies and entities meet alongside 50 professional buyers from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao. The meeting foresees the celebration of more than 1,000 business meetings with the aim of strengthening the sale of Spanish destinations and tourism products in the Asian market.
The event, organized by the Tourism Councils of Spain in Beijing and Canton, is aimed at tightening the relationships between the Spanish business fabric and the main Chinese operators, with a special focus on cultural, urban, nature, experiential, premium, and luxury tourism, in addition to the MICE segment (meetings, incentives, conferences, and events).
The program includes a visit to Alibaba's headquarters in Hangzhou, where attendees will be able to learn firsthand about the group's digital ecosystem and platforms such as Fliggy, Taobao, and Alipay, linked to tourism, e-commerce, and digital payments. Additionally, a presentation by Turespaña focused on the evolution and characteristics of the Chinese outbound market has been planned.
This meeting has been coordinated with the II Spain-China Heritage Dialogues, promoted by the Cultural Department of the Spanish Embassy in China and the Academy of Fine Arts of China. These days will address the conservation, rehabilitation, and sustainable management of built heritage and its link to tourism activity, with special attention to the Spanish experience and the Paradores model.
Turespaña will be present in the sessions on the rehabilitation of historic buildings for hotel use through the participation of Alfredo Latorre Marco, technical architect of the organization, and Ana Cabrera Lafuente, coordinator of the EU-Next Generation project.
After the meeting in Hangzhou, the agenda will continue in Macao, where Spain will attend as a guest partner country at the Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF), which will be held from October 15 to 17. The coordination between both forums will allow Spanish companies and destinations to expand their network of professional contacts and participate in business activities and meetings with international operators.
China gains weight as an outbound market for Spain
According to data from Turespaña, Spain received about 795,500 Chinese tourists in 2025, which represents an increase of 22.6% compared to the previous year and places arrivals above pre-pandemic records.
Between January and August 2026, the number of travelers from China rose to 679,891, with a growth of 30.4% compared to the same period in 2025.
Tourist spending also showed a very favorable evolution: in the twelve months up to August 2026, Chinese visitors made an expenditure of 2.63 billion euros in Spain, 38.4% more than in the previous period.
In parallel, the scheduled air capacity between Spain and China for the summer season of 2026 increased by 41.7%, reaching 87 direct weekly frequencies, thus reinforcing connectivity between both countries.