China Viewed by the West before COVID-19: Spaniards' Perceptions and Knowledge of China as a Tourist Destination

Abstract

China is not only becoming a major international tourist destination, and it also has huge potential as an issuing market. Spain, meanwhile, has long ranked among the world's top tourist destinations, and as an issuing market, it is gradually growing in importance. There is high potential for an increase in tourist flows between Spain and China in both directions. This paper analyses Spaniards' perceptions of China as a country and as a tourist destination and their familiarity with the reality of this Asiatic country, before the first news about COVID-19. Likewise, it aims to identify possible factors that might inhibit Spaniards from traveling on holiday to China while also offering an initial insight into Spain's future potential as an issuing market to China. For this purpose, 1063 interviews were conducted and analyzed. The results point to a strong potential intention by Spaniards to visit China, although it also reveals very little familiarity with the reality of China as a tourist destination, except for its two major symbols, Beijing and the Great Wall. The results also seem to indicate the existence of big travel inhibitors among certain segments, mainly related to the travel costs, politics and safety, environmental issues, and a lack of awareness of the quality standards of China's tourist sector. Future studies should analyze the changes that the pandemic may have produced in China's image.