A "Tour" to Show Sevilla in China Through the Eyes of 70 Schoolchildren

They are Sevillians of Chinese origin, a generation of children born into the Chinese community who have been living in the capital for a decade and who are now becoming Sevilla's best messengers in Asia. At the end of 2021, a group of 70 schoolchildren took part in a panoramic bus tour, a cultural exchange that also has an impact in China and helps to promote the destination in a very attractive market for the capital.

The initiative, sponsored by the company Sevirama, was conceived as an after-school activity for the students of the Yoer Centre in Sevilla, which is also open to children of Sevillian origin and attended by more than 400 students, and the Chinese Association of Andalusia. Around ten adults, including teachers and family members, also took part.

Sevirama, which pioneered the installation of open-top double-decker buses in Spain, has been operating in Sevilla since 1990. This Sevillian company provided its green buses free of charge, which were brought to the educational centre before the start of the tour.

The tour has been an experience for the children who have enjoyed the city with different eyes and, after getting to know the main tourist and monumental routes, they were able to get off at the Plaza de España to take photographs. This set of 1929 is one of the most recognised images in China and, for example, is the background poster used by the Chinese embassy in Spain in its official acts.

A municipal strategy

Sevilla's promotional strategy in Asia began a few years ago. Specifically, relations between the capital and the Asian giant intensified since 2018, with the holding of the Europe-China summit of the World Federation of Tourist Cities. 120 Andalusian companies took part in that event, most of them from the tourism services sector, but also from the agri-food sector. Since then, they have periodically asked the city of Sevilla to collaborate in the promotion of the destination in China, although the pandemic has slowed down these actions, which always have a media echo that enhances their impact.

The three speeches in Mandarin Chinese that the outgoing mayor, Juan Espadas, has addressed to the Chinese community in recent years were very well received. The first was in 2018 when he sent a message of greetings in Mandarin that was projected in Tian'anmen Square to mark the Chinese Year. There was another intervention during the presentation of the international painting and sculpture competition "Velázquez unites Sevilla and China" which aroused great interest. And the last one was last February, when he dared to make a 45-second video that was very popular in the Asian country and its communities in Spain to congratulate what has been the Year of the Ox for the Chinese.