Direct flights between Andalucía region and China could take off as early as next year

The Andalusian regional government has been trying to tap into the Chinese tourism market for a number of years and the prospect of direct flights between the south of Spain and China could become a reality from 2025.

Possible connections were discussed when the regional spokesperson for tourism Arturo Bernal and president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, visited Air China on a recent visit to the country. Malaga Airport is in the best position to handle the flights as this facility on the Costa del Sol is the gateway for almost 70 per cent of the travellers arriving in the Andalucía region by air.

The Junta de Andalucía has said that the airline has not only analysed statistics presented during the visit, but has also shown an interest in planning this new connection by asking for more reports on the Andalusian market.

A connection, the first that the region would have with Asia, according to Bernal could be operational in 2025. Bernal said in September that Air China "has the numbers" to offer a route for which it was considering offering three flights a week throughout the year to Shanghai and Beijing. The regional spokesperson said it would be the company that "will have to decide which airport it is most interested in".

"Air China already has connections with Madrid and Barcelona and, therefore, it is clear and everyone in Spain knows that the third option has to be Andalucía," Bernal said. The Junta has also said that another Chinese airline has shown interest in flights to Andalucía following the meetings with Air China, but the name of the second company has not been disclosed at the moment.

With this connection, Chinese tourism would increase by around 188%, to an approximate figure of 50,000 travellers from China per year. These tourists are of great interest to the sector as they are visitors who spend an average of ten days in the destination and spend more than 280 euros per person per day, a figure that, according to Spanish tourist board Turespaña, will rise this year to 410 euros, 25% more than in 2019, even though the average stay has been reduced from ten to seven and a half days.

"In general, there has been an overall trend towards greater spending on accommodation and restaurants in all European destinations to the detriment of shopping, as confirmed by the sector and establishments specialising in sales to tourists in this market," Turismo de España said.

According to Chinese analyst FastData, the number of Chinese holidaymakers travelling abroad reached 60.71 million in the first half of 2024, an increase of 50.4% year-on-year. Expectations are that this figure will grow in the second half of the year, reaching 90% of 2019 levels in the second half of 2024 and finally recovering to pre-pandemic levels in the first half of 2025, according to the same source.

Turespaña stressed that in this context, Spain received 450,000 Chinese tourists between January and August 2024, 97% of those who arrived in the same period of 2019 (Frontur), which shows a recovery far superior to that of the main European competitors, which are between 60 and 80% better than before the pandemic.