Last week, during the International Tourism Fair (FITUR) held in Madrid, the city of Seville and the Chinese Embassy in Spain signed a cooperation agreement which proclaimed Seville as the first “Chinese Friendly City” in Europe.

Seville aims to give Chinese Tourists a “special treatment” within their staying, in the words of the mayor Juan Ignacio Zoido, Seville wants to “increase the number of Chinese tourists visiting the city by making them feel as if they were at home, turning the city into a priority destination for them”. The mayor also announced that in 2011 Chinese Tourism increased up to 20% in the city, from 7.200 to 9.500.

The agreement was fostered by Chinese Friendly International (CFI), a recently created company which aims to prepare destinations and professionals worldwide for the arrival of Chinese Tourists. CFI in partnership with COTRI China Outbound Tourism Research Institute will organize several training programs for Spanish tourist professionals in 2012, introducing the COQ Label to those companies and destinations offering specific quality services for Chinese tourists.

In 2010, 102.000 Chinese tourists visited Spain. Before the release of the official statistics, 125.000 were forecasted for 2011.