Greece courting Chinese tourism

Last Friday Tourism Minister Fani Palli-Petralia and her Chinese counterpart Shao Qiwei signed a tourism agreement marking closer cooperation between the two countries in the tourism sector, reports www.new-europe.info

China's bilateral assistance in the organising of the Olympic Games was a significant step towards closer ties between the two countries, as Greece hands over the Olympic torch to China for Beijing 2008. Within the framework of the new agreement, Greece will be the honoured country in the annual China International Travel Mart (CITM) tourism exhibition held in Shanghai in November.

ANA quoted Ms. Petralia as saying Greece can become a number one European destination for millions of Chinese tourists. ANA went on to point out that a Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO) office opened in Beijing a year ago providing detailed tourist guides written in Chinese and information on visits to Greece.

www.new-europe.info reports that Ms. Petralia also held a meeting with Air China General Director Ma Xu Lun, where agreement was reached on the need for direct flights between Greece and China. The airline management were then invited to visit Greece in August to discuss the option of chartered flights between the two countries.

China currently has the fastest growing economy in the world and a rapidly expanding middle class. This represents a huge tourism potential in the medium term as long-haul travel becomes more fashionable there.