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Ten Times More Chinese Tourists Visit Greece

It is not a secret that China is the largest source market for inbound tourism in the world, and the recent China Outbound Travel and Tourism Market event in Beijing only proved that. According to the information provided by China National Tourism Administration, tourists from China made more than 130 million trips in 2017. They spent more than US$115 billion during their business or leisure travels. This sum is only expected to grow in coming years and reach a fantastic result of US$163 billion by 2024.

The number of Chinese tourists will also keep growing as currently approximately 120 million Chinese have passports for traveling abroad. That is only 9% of the country’s population. For example, in the United States, nearly 36% of the population has passports.

Some countries particularly benefit from the increased number of Chinese tourists. Greece is definitely one of these countries. Last year, more than 170,000 visitors from China arrived in Greece individually or in tour groups. The number of visitors is expected to continue growing in 2018. There are many factors that make Greece an attractive destination for Chinese. They want to attend archeological landmarks, get new cultural knowledge, relax, enjoy Greek food, and escape from the usual daily routine. Moreover, Greece is considered a prestigious destination.

Hotels in Athens particularly benefit from the increased number of Chinese guests as a quarter of all guests in the capital of Greece is currently from China. Despite some minor problems like the lack of Chinese food, the number of guests from China keeps growing. Local hotels try to adapt to changes and offer more Chinese food. More and more restaurants that serve Chinese cuisine appear in Athens and other cities across the county. Greek authorities, in their turn, try to make visa processing easier and faster and improve the overall connectivity between Greece and China. More direct flights have appeared between the countries. At the moment, there are scheduled flights from 30 Chinese cities to Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Heraklion, Santorini, Crete, and other popular destinations.

In January and February 2018, Greece issued 53.5% more tourist visas for Chinese travelers. Greek National Tourism office at the recent Guangzhou International Travel Fair was also successful and signed 30-40% more packages with Chinese travel agents.

17.05.2018

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