Spain's World Cup victory has fuelled Chinese tourists' interest in visiting the country and opens up an opportunity for trade ahead of the 'Golden Week', one of China's main holiday periods, according to data from travel platform Qunar compiled by Spanish company Stamp.
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Searches for flights between Shenzhen and Barcelona rose 33-fold in the hours following La Roja's triumph, while those to Tenerife increased 19-fold and those to Málaga 10.5 times.
Overall, a 2024 study by the University of Aberdeen, published in the Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, finds that winning the World Cup boosts the champion country's year-on-year GDP growth by at least 0.48% over the two quarters after the final, before the effect fades, even though the sample of champions analysed is inevitably limited.
Applied to the size of the Spanish economy, at 1.69 trillion euros, that estimated increase would amount to around 4 billion euros.
In the case of the Asian giant, however, the rise in interest also builds on a trend that was already taking shape.
According to Aena, air traffic between Spain and China reached 707,530 passengers in the first half of 2026, 46.8% more than in the same period a year earlier. The opening of new air links and the increase in travellers from cities such as Chengdu or Guangzhou have reinforced this recovery, which the World Cup has helped to accelerate.
With the 'Golden Week' scheduled from 1 to 8 October, Stamp has published a guide to help Spanish retailers adapt to Chinese consumer preferences. The document points out that 77.8% of these travellers plan their shopping before they travel through platforms such as Xiaohongshu, Weibo or WeChat, making digital visibility crucial for attracting customers.
The Spanish company specialising in shopping tourism also stresses the importance of accepting payment methods such as Alipay and WeChat Pay, used in more than 90% of purchases made by Chinese tourists abroad, as well as simplifying the VAT refund process.
"The Chinese tourist today does not have a Tax Free, but a Tax Refund: they pay full VAT at the till and, weeks later, if all goes well, get part of it back", explains Abel Navajas, co-founder and chief executive of Stamp. According to the executive, removing that friction and offering the discount at the time of purchase could be decisive in helping Spanish retailers make the most of the rise in tourism from China.