Serbia and China introduced the mutual visa-free regime in January 2017, and Serbia was the first European country to lift visa requirement for the Chinese traveling to the country while other countries in the Balkan region followed suit, the Chinese news agency Xinhua says in the news article headlined "Eased visa policies boost exchanges, cooperation between China, Balkan nations".
"While visa liberalization and simplification will undoubtedly lead to the flourishing of tourism industries in CEE countries, the impact will go beyond just that," the Chinese news agency underscores in the news article whose publication on Friday coincided with the ongoing summit meeting of the 16 + 1 initiative of countries of central and eastern Europe (CEE) and China in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia.
"After Serbia, Montenegro decided to introduce convenient measures for Chinese visa-applicants since April 15, 2017. Romania, a member state of European Union (EU), also simplified visa application procedures for Chinese nationals on Sept. 15, 2017 under the uniform European legal framework. This year, Chinese tourists will not have to apply for a visa to visit Albania during the peak tourist season from April 1 to Oct. 30, while Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) mutual visa-free regime with China took effect on May 29," Xinhua writes.
A pillar of China-CEE cooperation
"Canceling or streamlining visa applications between China and Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries is a pillar of the cooperation mechanism between the two sides that has brought tangible benefits to the public," the news agency recalls.
Miodrag Popovic, director of the Tourist Organization of Belgrade, told Xinhua in an interview that visa liberalization is a proof of good relations between China and Serbia, in both political and economic spheres, adding "this decision was made in order to additionally strengthen our cultural and economic ties."
According to data from Serbia's Statistical Office, a total of 18,530 Chinese tourists visited Serbia between Jan. 1 and May 1, up 13 percent compared to the same period last year.
"Following the simplification of the visa application process for Chinese nationals, Romania is expected to attract more Chinese tourists, thus injecting vitality into its tourism industry. Bogdan Trif, Romania's minister of tourism, has expressed his country's willingness to become a main tourist destination for the Chinese people. China opened a visa application service center in Romania's capital city of Bucharest, the first inside the EU, on June 22 to facilitate the visa process and provide better service to Romanians applying for Chinese visas," the Chinese news agency says.
Trif said the year 2017 registered a 22 percent increase year-on-year of Chinese tourists in Romania.
In Albania, Chinese tourists increased by 69 percent in 2017 compared to the previous year, according to Gertion Cobo, an expert associated with the country's Ministry of Tourism and Environment.
According to BiH's Agency for Statistics, from January to April 2018, Chinese tourists coming to the country increased 77.9 percent year-on-year, while the number of tourists who stayed overnight in the country rose 69.6 percent.
Bosnia and Herzegovina's minister of foreign trade and economic relations, Mirko Sarovic, told Xinhua in a recent interview that the Balkan region as a whole has been considered an interesting destination by Chinese tourists in recent years.
"Visa liberalization with China will strongly boost the tourism industry of BiH and the first results will be evident this year," Sarovic said.
There have been some 30,000 Chinese tourists to BiH in 2017, and Sarovic expects the number to reach 50,000 in 2018 as BiH joins the list of visa-free nations for Chinese tourists.
Tourism official says China strategically important market for Croatia's tourism
In mid-May, the director of the Croatian National Tourism Board (HTZ), Kristjan Stancic, who then attended the ITB China travel exhibition in Shanghai, told Hina that China was a strategically important market for Croatia's tourism, adding that the number of Chinese travelers to Croatia rose by 40% this year.
Croatia presented its tourism services at the ITB China as part of the large European Travel Commission stand.
Stancic underscored it was important to simplify the visa regime with China and introduce direct flights between Chinese and Croatian destinations.
Chinese vote Croatia as best new destination in Europe in 2018
According to readers of the Chinese edition of the US-based Travel+Leisure magazine, Croatia becomes most sought-after European destination for Chinese tourists in 2018, and one of "China Travel Awards-World Best Awards" was bestowed upon Croatia, the HTZ reported in early February.
The official award-giving ceremony in Shanghai, which was held in early February, attracted numerous diplomats and executives of travel agencies, hotels, tour operators and airlines from around the world who received awards in various categories as selected by the magazine's readers and in China there are more than a million readers of that newspaper.
In addition to Croatia being awarded as the best new European destination, on the global scale, Argentina, Tahiti and Myanmar received awards while 'old' destinations included Australia, Japan and Thailand.
HTZ Director Stanicic said then that this was the first time for Croatia to receive an award of this kind on the Chinese market.
"The award confirms Croatia's excellent potential as a tourist destination on a large and exceptionally important market, China. Furthermore, it also confirms our assessment and decision to strengthen our presence in China with additional promotional material and opening an HTZ office in Shanghai this year. Last year's results from that market are encouraging with a high increase in arrivals of 57% and almost 50% more overnight stays compared to 2016," he told Hina then. (Hina)
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