Following the recent new direct flights between Madrid and two Chinese top cities Beijing and Shanghai, comes news related to Spanish tourism administration designing special cultural sightseeing products and training more Chinese-speaking tour guides to woo more tourists from China. 

“We are preparing special sightseeing routes for the Chinese tourists, who often take great interest in historical and cultural sites,” said Arturo Claver, tourism official with the Spanish Embassy in Beijing.

Tourism administration in Spain is also taking steps to ease the current shortage of tour guides who can speak Chinese. Some hotels in Spain are also planning to offer unique services to Chinese visitors, said the official.

Last month, Spain’s Air Europa airline company launched its non-stop flights between Madrid and Beijing and Shanghai, which are the first direct flights between the two countries after China’s Eastern Airlines suspended its China-Spain flight.

In a new development, the Air Plus Comet airline company shared that it is to launch direct passenger flights from Madrid to China’s Beijing and Shanghai as of July 4. The flight will leave Madrid for Beijing on Monday and return to Madrid on Wednesday. On the other route, the plane will leave Madrid on Friday, heading for Shanghai via Barcelona, Spain’s second largest city. It will fly back to Madrid on Saturday, the Air Plus Comet airline company said. 

Spanish Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism Jose Montilla said the new routes will promote Spain-China exchanges in tourism, economy and trade.

About 36,000 Spanish tourists visited China and about 20,000 Chinese tourists came to Spain last year, he said. China’s Eastern Airlines launched its direct Shanghai-Madrid flight in June 1992 but canceled it in November 2003 after years of losses.