With the flow of foreign visitors at record levels and the touristry converted into Hot debate themeToledo has proposed to rethink its tourism. The city lasts a ordinance that regulates the sector and He has recognized openly that he wants his flow of travelers to be more compatible with the day -to -day life of his neighbors, enhancing “quality tourism against mass.” Given that challenge, your City Council It is very clear Where you should look: China.
That is why he has decided to go to the Asian giant has promoted himself.
To the hunt for tourists. Toledo wants more Chinese tourists. And is willing to travel thousands of kilometers to achieve it. The city has just launched a commercial mission Headed by its mayor, Carlos Velázquez, to sell the benefits of the Castillanomanchega town in the Asian market. The delegation, in which local representatives and representatives of the hoteliers and the Toledo business fabric will participate, part today with a clear purpose: “reinforce tourism promotion” in China and (an important nuance) “attract quality tourism.”
And what exactly will they do? In The statement In which he reports the campaign, the City Council does not give too many details, but it does advance that it will include “commercial meetings”, aspires to “consolidate” the image of Toledo as “quality tourism destination” and contemplates meetings with representatives of Chinese provinces. The team also wants to start the procedures for The twinning From Toledo with Xi´an, the city of the celebration Terracota warriors.
What … and when. The initiative is interesting both for its content and (especially) for its context. After all, it is not any time for Toledo tourism. The City Council expects to approve This same month a New Ordinance which aspires to “make coexistence easier” between visitors and residents of their historic center and above all, In words of Carlos Velázquez himself, “to enhance quality tourism against mass.”
That expression (“quality tourism”) is repeated half a dozen in The statement in which the City Council informs of the commercial mission.
The New standard which will regulate the tourism of Toledo contemplates the declaration of certain streets of the Historic Center as saturated areas, in which special rules will be applied that facilitate the passage of visitors and neighbors. It also foresees that broad groups (formed by more than 30 people) must use individual audio systems, prohibit the use of megaphones at night and establishes that the guides Free Tours They will not be able to use colored umbrellas to capture customers.
Why Chinese tourists? For several reasons. The main (and obvious) is the size of the Chinese market, a country of 1.4 billion of potential visitors. The Toledo Consistory himself remembers that only in the Xi´an metropolitan region, a territory with which he wants Portugal.
And although the flow of travelers of the Asian giant is in a way conditioned By the war in Ukraine (the conflict affects aerial connections), Europe remains a Popular destination For the Chinese, whose tourism sector He recovers After the pandemic sake. In fact Toledo is not the only city that seeks to cut its visitors. Others locations and companies Spanish have already traveled to the Asian giant to strengthen ties. Carlos Velázquez himself has shown in other occasions His interest in China as the engine of a “quality tourism.”
A figure: 3,150 euros. The Chinese visitor usually highlights for another reason, especially interesting for the tourism industry in its broader spectrum: the portfolio. According to the UNChina leads the ranking of international tourism spending, standing well above the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and France, which complete the ‘Top 5’. And the United Nations is not the only source that points in that direction. In July Visa published A report on expenses of foreign visitors in Spain that places the Chinese in first position.
“Each international tourist plans to spend on their trip to Spain up to € 3,150, which reinforces the positive impact of the sector on the national economy. For markets, Chinese tourists lead the average expenditure (€ 3,150), followed by Americans (€ 2,850) and Mexicans (€ 2,435)”, collect the reportwhich recalls that those who visit Spain do it above all for their cultural wealth, their attractiveness as a destination of sun and beach and the desire to know emblematic cities.
The authors of the study They slide In addition, another interesting idea: as well as the British who arrive in Spain, they seek especially sun and beach and Mexican cultural experiences, the Chinese especially value purchases.
Is there more data? Yes. And show the potential of the Chinese market that now hopes to conquer Toledo. While the flow of visitors to the Asian giant continues to be far from other countries such as the United Kingdom or Germany, The INE shows That last year Spain received just over 640,000 Chinese visitors, still below the 700,700 it reached before the pandemic.
As for spending, the INE agrees that the average by Chinese visitor was around last year the € 2,900in front of the 1,300 of the Germans or 1,200 of the English. Statistics does not detail if it includes the value of flights. In any case, your half -day/person is also high: 406in front of the 165 of the Germans.
Images | Daniel Velásquez (UNSPLASH), David Stanley (Flickr) and A Tourism (X)
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