BARCELONA, Spain, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The number of visitors from China rose by 26 percent in the first quarter of this year, building on a 66.7 percent increase recorded in 2024, when Spain welcomed 647,801 Chinese travelers, according to the Spanish Tourism Institute (Turespana).
Chinese tourists are among the record-breaking influx of international visitors choosing Spain as a holiday destination, according to Spain's ministry of tourism.
More than 25.6 million people visited Spain during the first four months of 2025, putting the country on course to reach a record 100 million international visitors this year, according to figures from the National Statistics Institute (INE) published on Monday by the tourism ministry.
According to INE data, the rise in visitor numbers represents a 7.1 percent increase compared to the same period last year, when Spain set an all-time record of 93.8 million tourists.
While most visitors came from European countries - particularly Britain (4.7 million), France (3.4 million), and Germany (3.3 million) - the number of visitors from non-European countries also increased by 6.5 percent.
Turespana noted that the growing popularity of Spain among Chinese travelers is reflected in the doubling of direct flights between China and Spain since the pre-pandemic year of 2019, with 61 flights scheduled this summer.
"Spain is consolidating its position as an on-trend European destination in the Chinese market," sources at the tourism institute told Xinhua.
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