Spain’s victory at the 2026 FIFA World Cup has sparked a sharp rise in interest among Chinese travellers, with flight searches to several Spanish destinations surging in the hours after the final and raising expectations for stronger tourism and retail spending ahead of China’s Golden Week holiday.
According to data from Chinese online travel platform Qunar, compiled by Spanish company Stamp, searches for flights between Shenzhen and Barcelona increased 33-fold shortly after Spain secured the title. Searches for flights to Tenerife rose 19-fold, while those to Málaga increased 10.5 times. Other routes also recorded significant growth, including flights from Kunming, Qingdao and Guiyang to Barcelona, as well as services from Kunming and Jinan to Madrid.
The surge comes as Spain continues to rebuild its connectivity with China. According to Spanish airport operator Aena, air traffic between the two countries reached 707,530 passengers during the first half of 2026, representing a 46.8% increase compared with the same period in 2025. The recovery has been supported by new air links and growing passenger numbers from Chinese cities including Chengdu and Guangzhou, with the World Cup victory further accelerating demand.
The timing is particularly significant as China prepares for Golden Week, its major national holiday running from 1 to 8 October, when millions of Chinese residents travel domestically and internationally. Stamp believes Spain’s football success offers retailers and tourism businesses an opportunity to attract more visitors during one of China’s busiest travel periods. Based on the size of Spain’s €1.69 trillion economy, Euronews estimated that the increase would amount to around €4 billion.
To help businesses prepare, the company has published guidance encouraging Spanish retailers to improve their visibility on Chinese social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu, Weibo and WeChat, where 77.8% of Chinese travellers plan their shopping before travelling. Stamp also recommends wider acceptance of digital payment systems including Alipay and WeChat Pay, which it says account for more than 90% of purchases made by Chinese tourists overseas.
“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,” said Abel Navajas, co-founder and chief executive of Stamp. He argued that reducing friction in the VAT refund process by offering the discount at the point of purchase could help Spanish retailers benefit from the growing influx of Chinese visitors.
The tourism boost also comes as Spain’s visitor economy continues to expand. Earlier this year, the country announced it was on course to welcome a record 100 million international tourists in 2026, reinforcing its position as one of the world’s leading travel destinations.
The increased interest also reflects broader research suggesting that hosting or winning major sporting events can generate economic benefits beyond football. A 2024 study by the University of Aberdeen, published in the Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, found that winning the FIFA World Cup can increase a champion country’s year-on-year GDP growth by at least 0.48% over the two quarters following the final before the effect gradually fades.
