The Catalan Tourism Agency held a meeting on Wednesday between Chinese tour operators and local businesses in Casa Asia, a cultural and economic center in the northeastern Spanish city of Barcelona.

The meeting aimed to help Chinese and local companies build relationships in tourism - a very important sector for the Spanish economy.

Spain is a popular tourist destination, and the region of Catalonia, in the northeast of Spain, is a favorite with international tourists. The region received about 15 million international tourists in the first 10 months of 2014.

"It is a good initiative; they should organize more," said Sandra Oude Wansink, from the company Sol & Seda.

"These meetings can allow us to collaborate with other companies and introduce products in the market that can reach more people with better prices, better quality," she said.

Carlos Romero, a sales manager for Salles Hotels, said Chinese customers are very attractive for the hotel industry, because "it is a very powerful market, with a high level of spending and given the long journey from China to here, they spend quite a long time here".

Cristina Barbero, also from Sol & Seda, said Chinese clients are considered a priority for her company.

Spain received 60.66 million foreign tourists in 2013 and expects to exceed this figure in 2014. However, only 0.25 percent of Chinese tourists abroad chose Spain as a destination in 2013.

Before the meeting on Wednesday afternoon, Casa Asia held a course on Chinese tourism titled "Chinese Outbound Tourism: A New Challenge for the European Tourism Sector".

Xinhua in Barcelona, Spain