In implementation of the Memorandum of Agreement between the National Tourism Administration of the People's Republic of China and the European Community on Visas and Related Issues in Relation to Chinese Tour Groups, dated February 12, 2004, that grants Member States Authorized Destination Status, known as ADS (“Approved Destination Status”), the list of Spanish inbound travel agencies interested in groups of Chinese tourists is updated for subsequent communication to the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA). The CNTA includes this list in its database of EC inbound travel agencies with which Chinese AAVVs can contract inbound services in the EC.

All travel agencies established in Spain that are interested in appearing on this list must notify the Secretary of State for Tourism, through:

General Subdirectorate of Tourism Cooperation and Competitiveness:

• C/ Capitán Haya, 41 (28020 – Madrid)
• Phone 91.732.64.71 Fax 91.732.64.74
• Email:  sgcooperacion@tourspain.es

Registration period

From September 30 to October 25, 2014.

All requests, once reviewed, will be answered individually.

Two cases are distinguished: Renewal: for travel agencies that appear in the list of May 2014; and New registration:: for those agencies that do not appear in said list (including those that have appeared in previous lists).

New registration

For registration, the following information must be communicated:

• Full name of the travel agency
• Contact person
• Postal address (Street/Road, number and Postal Code)
• Phone number
• Fax (if any)
• Email address
• Registration number or License issued by the competent administrative authority of the corresponding Autonomous Community that demonstrates that the applicant company is authorized to operate as a travel agency and holds the corresponding title-license.
• In any case, you must send a copy of your title-license to the fax 91.732.64.74, or the scanned copy of said title-license to the email address sgcooperacion@tourspain.es

Renewal

Spanish travel agencies that appear on the May 2014 list and wish to remain included in the list must notify this also using the same procedure. If they do not do so, it will be understood that they wish to unsubscribe and they will be automatically excluded from the list.

To renew the registration and in order to keep the content of the list updated, the following data must be communicated:

• Full name of the travel agency
• Contact person
• Postal address (Street/Road, number, and Postal Code)
• Phone number
• Fax (if any)
• Email address
• Registration number or License issued by the competent administrative authority that demonstrates that the applicant company is authorized to operate as a travel agency and has the corresponding license title (in this case it is not necessary to send a copy of the license title to the have been sent in the previous registration, but notify it for verification).

The list is legally indicative according to the interpretation of the European Commission; However, AAVVs that are actually going to contract with Chinese AAVVs for the provision of inbound services in the EC are recommended to register on said list.

The reason for this registration is not only to enable recruitment by the Chinese AAVVs. The consular offices of the EC Member States, in the use of the powers conferred on them by the Common Consular Instruction of the EC, require from the Chinese AAVV, when applying for visas, a certification of the receptive European AV, with specification of all services contracted and reserved for the ADS group.

The AAVV indicative list, once compiled by the Delegation of the European Commission in China, is the only instrument available to the consular offices of the EC Member States in China to verify that the European company declared by the AV china station for the incoming destination is a true travel agency and not another type of company.

The Chinese Tourism Administration has expressed to the Delegation of the European Commission in Beijing its intention to update the list every six months so that travel agencies belonging to the European countries included in the Memorandum of Agreement can be included in the database to which the Chinese AAVVs authorized to send tourist groups abroad have access.

See press release [PDF ] [431 KB]