Staff Reporter
THE Valencian tourism board has launched an intensive campaign to attract Chinese visitors to the region.
Planned to coincide with Chinese New Year tomorrow (February 12), the online scheme has targeted travellers and the tourist industry in the Asian country with promotion on all major digital information services.
This includes opening official accounts on WeChat and Weibo, said to be the main sources of travel information in China, where the Valencian promoters plan to publish regular updates every week providing travel ideas and suggestions.
Turisme has also created a new internet portal specifically for the Chinese market, www.travelregionofvalencia.cn, with information on things to see and do, food, culture and practical advice about visas and transport.
A series of webinars for travel agents have also been scheduled for this year and next.
According to analysts, Chinese tourism in Europe is expected to boom over the next two years. In fact, before COVID hit last year, Spain was one of the leading destinations in this regard with nearly 650 million arrivals in 2018 and an increase of more than 22% over the first nine months of 2019.
Nearly 20,000 Chinese travellers visited the Valencian Community in 2019 – a whopping 73% increase with regards to the previous year.
Furthermore, as well as being the largest market in the world due to sheer population figures, Chinese visitors also reportedly spend more on travel than any other nationality.
