MADRID, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Spanish island of Ibiza, located in the east, has launched a new website in Chinese to promote its tourist sector among Chinese population, Ibiza's authorities announced in an ongoing tourism fair in Madrid.
The island, which is the third largest of the archipelago of the Balearic Islands, presented the website within the framework of FITUR being held from Jan. 17 to 21.
The mayor of Ibiza, Rafa Ruiz, told Xinhua that "it seems every country speaks English, but it is not like that," he said, "there are millions of Chinese citizens and we are an opened society, I always say Ibiza is one of the capitals of the world, we coexist with many different nationalities and we want the Chinese nationality to be in our city too."
At the presentation, authorities emphasized the historical heritage of Ibiza, whose old town, Dalt Vila, was officially named a World Heritage Listed Site by UNESCO. Ibiza saw different peoples and civilizations live on its lands, such as the Phoenicians, the Greeks or the Carthaginians.
"We know that one of the main goals of Chinese tourists is to learn about the different cultures that lived on different European cities with history," Ruiz pointed out, adding that "we think we have very suitable characteristics for this kind of tourism" interested in cultural richness.
Ruiz explained that Ibiza's heritage can be visited the whole year, but especially in the months of fall and spring, avoiding the crowds visiting the island during the summer.
Authorities also highlighted the island's gastronomy that includes restaurants by very famous chefs, such as Ferran Adria, and its shopping streets. They believe these aspects make Ibiza a good destination for those tourists interested in cultural richness rather than beach and sun tourism.
The Balearic Islands is one of the three main destinations in Spain for international tourists along with Spain's northeastern region of Catalonia and the archipelago of the Canary Islands.
