The high-end Spanish sector, embodied by Círculo Fortuny the only organisation renowned internationally for representing luxury Spanish brands </em><em>-,<strong> thanks Iberia for its efforts in making one of the sector’s demands a reality by establishing permanent direct connections with the main cities in China and South-East Asia.
According to the World Tourism Organisation, tourists from China devote more of their travel budget, 70%, to shopping than any other nation, making it the prime reason for choosing holiday destinations.
Purchases arising from this type of tourism are directed towards quality, premium brands, a sector that generated 224 billion euros in worldwide sales in 2014 and an estimated 4 billion euros in Spain in 2015.
Círculo Fortuny, which is chaired by Carlos Falcó, Marqués de Griñón, stresses that shopping tourism should be a priority in terms of Spain’s tourism strategy, contributing further to the change in the current tourism model. This will generate prosperity and employment in Spain, resulting in a deseasonalisation of demand and thereby increasing the profitability of the tourism sector. According to the leading tax free operator Global Blue, a corporate partner of Círculo Fortuny; in 2014 Spain received around 300 000 Chinese tourists, a figure which could grow exponentially considering the country’s tourist export outlook for the next 15 years. According to forecasts, this emerging power will increase its tourism export by 442%, with tourists heading to various destinations around the world.
For Spain, this would represent 1 626 000 Chinese visitors who, if they maintain their shopping spending of €974 per capita, will constitute an income of €1,584 billion. During 2015, Círculo Fortuny has participated in summits dedicated to new tourism challenges, including the 2015 European Tourism Forum in Luxembourg and the 2015 Shopping, Tourism & Economy Summit in Madrid, where it has underlined how the luxury sector is a driver of quality tourism.
Following the inauguration of this new Madrid-Shanghai route, Círculo Fortuny will continue to focus its efforts on opening new direct air routes between Spain and countries that export high-end tourism, as well as reviewing tourist visa regulations.
