On Wednesday, the United Nations World Tourism Organization released a report based on figures compiled by the Global Blue consulting firm that indicate tourists in 2012 spent about $1 billion on purchases in Spain, of which 48% was concentrated in Barcelona and 31% in Madrid.
According to Taleb Rifai, UNWTO Secretary-General, shopping has become a secondary reason for tourism and has become a major factor in tourists’ destination decisions.
Therefore, at present, it has become a significant competitive factor in cities, given that it drives economic growth and the creation of jobs.
The UNWTO stressed that Chinese tourists spent the most on international trips, laying down $129 billion worldwide, and 26% more than during the previous year.
The authors of the report stressed that in Europe there is great competition in enticing Chinese tourists, something that in Spain is made more complicated by the difficulties Chinese citizens have in getting a visa and the few transportation connections with the Asian giant.
In the meantime, Yolanda Perdomo, the director of the UNWTO’s Affiliated Members Program, said that motivating shopping tourism requires teamwork between the public and private sectors to ease innovation and the exchange of information, and there must be a clearly defined policy that is much more focused on drawing and serving international visitors.
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