With the surge in inbound tourists driven by China’s expanding visa-free policies, the number of Spanish-speaking visitors to the country has significantly increased, creating an urgent demand for Spanish-speaking tour guides.
Mingxiang Li, a Spanish-speaking tour guide, observed that the number of Spanish-speaking tourists visiting Chengdu this year has noticeably increased. Many tour groups consist of dozens of visitors, with group sizes surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
Since the visa waiver took effect in the first quarter of this year, Li’s quarterly earnings surpassed RMB 150,000 (USD 20,551)—equivalent to the annual income of many Chinese-speaking tour guides.
Globally, the number of native Spanish speakers has surpassed 600 million this year, making Spanish the most-spoken language after Chinese and English.
Despite the vast Spanish-speaking population worldwide, Chengdu currently has only 10 active Spanish-speaking tour guides, highlighting a striking imbalance between supply and demand.
Across China, there are roughly 660,000 certified tour guides, with 91.6% specializing in Chinese-speaking tours, while only 8.4% are proficient in foreign languages. Among them, guides fluent in less common languages, such as Spanish, are in critically short supply.
While Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, and Guilin remain staple destinations for inbound tourists, new hotspots have emerged this year, including Chengdu, Chongqing, and Zhangjiajie.
China’s inbound tourism boom, fueled by visa-free access and amplified by social media exposure, has turned “China travel” into a popular trend for international influencers, generating fresh business opportunities for the inbound tourism sector.
The outlook for inbound tourism next year appears even more promising, with potential for further growth and diversification.
