Balkan Countries Spy Potential in Chinese Tourism

Tourism ministers and experts from China and 16 Central and Eastern European countries attended a conference on September 18 to 20, in Dubrovnik, Croatia, to discuss further co-operation in the tourism sector.

Topics that were high on the agenda of the meeting included the necessity of introducing direct flights from China to the region, creation of joint tourism packages and further simplifying visa application procedures.

China launched the 16+ format in 2012. It seeks to improve trade and economic ties between China and 16 countries and a protocol on co-operation in tourism was signed in 2014.

Croatian Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said on Wednesday at the conference that the region had its eye on the important Chinese market.

"Chinese tourists account for a fifth of global tourism and last year alone 12.4 million Chinese people visited Europe, which is why Central and Eastern European counties see an enormous growth potential in China," he said. Capelli confirmed that his country is negotiating on flights to China for next year.

In other countries of the region, the number of tourists from China is also rising.

Mason Hinsdale, editor of Jing Travel, a website specialised in global Chinese travel, said Croatia and Serbia are the two fastest-growing Balkan destinations for Chinese holidaymakers.

"Serbia along with Bosnia-Herzegovina has a visa-exempt policy for Chinese tourists, which no doubt helps," Hunsdale told BIRN.

Serbia's Tourism Office said the country had 90,000 Chinese tourists this year, in terms of the number of paid nights in the first seven months of this year.

This was 80 per cent more compared to the same period last year.

Bosnia and Herzegovina also recorded more tourists from China...