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  • 9/8/2013

Opening of the registration period in the indicative list of travel agencies of the European Community for the reception of Chinese tourist groups

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 tourist groups, dated February 12, 2004, that grants the Member States the 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 in
this list, they must communicate it to the Secretary of State for Tourism, through:

  • General Subdirectorate of Tourism Cooperation and Competitiveness
  • C/ Capitán Haya, 41 (28020 – Madrid) New Address
  • Phone 91.732.64.68. Fax 91.732.64.74 New Telephone and Fax Numbers
  • Email: sgcooperacion@tourspain.es

Registration period

Until September 30, 2013.

All requests, once reviewed, will be answered individually.

Two assumptions are distinguished:

  • Renewal: for travel agencies that appear on the March 2013 list; 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, number, and Postal Code)
  • Telephone and fax numbers
  • 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 license title to fax 91.732.64.74, or a scanned copy of said license title to the email address sgcooperacion@tourspain.es.

Renewal

Spanish travel agencies that appear on the March 2013 list and wish to remain included in the list must also communicate this 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, number, and Postal Code)
  • Telephone and fax numbers
  • Email address
  • Registration number or License issued by the competent administrative authority that demonstrates that the requesting 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 title-license as it was sent in the previous registration.

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 incoming 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 Chinese AV broadcaster for the incoming destination is an authentic 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