The inaugural flight of Hainan Airlines’ Haikou–Chongqing–Madrid route was successfully launched on June 20, marking the opening of a new air corridor linking Hainan and Spain. To seize the opportunities brought by the new route, the Hainan Provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports organized a delegation of Spanish travel agents and tour operators to visit Hainan for a seven-day, six-night familiarization (FAM) tour, with the aim of further promoting Hainan’s tourism resources in the Spanish and wider European market.
On the morning of June 22, the Spanish travel trade delegation arrived at Haikou Meilan International Airport on the inaugural flight. To welcome the guests, the airport arranged a specially designed island-themed reception featuring a flash mob-style cultural performance. Traditional Hainan welcome music was performed on site, while mascot characters greeted the delegation warmly, creating an immersive first impression of Hainan’s hospitality and cultural atmosphere.
The week-long itinerary covered Haikou, Qionghai, Wanning, Lingshui, Baoting, and Sanya. The Spanish travel professionals visited Haikou Qilou Old Street to experience the century-old Nanyang (overseas Chinese) cultural heritage. They visited the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone to observe the development achievements of Hainan’s medical and wellness tourism industry under the Free Trade Port framework. In Wanning, they experienced coastal surfing activities and the island’s emerging sports tourism products. They also visited Fenjiezhou Island to enjoy its coastal scenery, and explored traditional intangible cultural heritage at Binglanggu Hainan Li & Miao Cultural Tourism Zone. In addition, the delegation conducted inspections of several high-end international hotels in Haikou and Sanya, and visited key scenic attractions including Nanshan Cultural Tourism Zone, Luhuitou Scenic Area, and Yalong Bay Tropical Paradise Forest Park. Through these visits, the Spanish travel trade gained a comprehensive understanding of Hainan as a diversified island destination beyond its natural coastline resources.
At the end of the program, a dedicated “Spain–Hainan Tourism Cooperation Symposium” will be held, bringing together tourism enterprises from Hainan and the Spanish delegation for face-to-face discussions. The session will focus on sharing tourism resources, exchanging industry insights, and jointly developing high-quality travel products and itineraries tailored to European traveler preferences, further strengthening tourism cooperation between the two sides.
A relevant official from the Hainan Provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports stated that the launch of the new route and the series of familiarization activities represent an important initiative in deepening Hainan’s engagement with the European inbound tourism market and expanding its international tourism network. Looking ahead, Hainan will continue to leverage the Haikou–Madrid air route, strengthen tourism exchange and training cooperation with football youth programs such as FC Barcelona, and make use of Madrid as the location of the UN Tourism headquarters to enhance its global outreach. The province also plans to establish a dedicated tourism promotion office in Spain and strengthen cooperation with local tourism institutions, leading travel agencies, online travel platforms, and mainstream media channels, in order to further promote Hainan as a tropical island destination in the European market.
Going forward, Hainan will continue to enhance long-term tourism cooperation with Europe, improve inbound tourism marketing and service systems, strengthen brand visibility in overseas markets, and support the high-quality development and international opening-up of Hainan Free Trade Port’s inbound tourism sector.