Chinese visitors seen to hold key to Greek tourism

Chinese visitors hold a key role in the effort to keep Greece’s tourism growing in the future, Tourism Minister Haris Theocharis told Xinhua.

China is a strategic partner for Greece in many areas, but tourism is what Athens considers a dynamic market, the Greek official said, explaining that it is important for Greece to attract more Chinese visitors.

“The immediate goal that we have set in the next two years is to increase the number of Chinese tourists to more than 500,000, which is an ambitious but realistic target,” Theocharis said.

Approximately 150,000 to 200,000 Chinese tourists visited Greece last year, marking growth of over 20 percent from the year before, according to the Beijing Office of the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO).

“Greece has been blessed with a lot of advantages as far as tourism is concerned, cultural advantages environmental advantages, and also people that are naturally inclined to welcome foreigners and visitors,” Theocharis noted.

To continue being successful and maintain its position in the global tourism industry, Greece is looking at the trends, focusing on the younger generations that are becoming the affluent tourists today, he explained.

Therefore, Greece invests in sustainability, authenticity and high-quality services.

Chinese visitors have a special place in the planning for the future, and Greece aims to make its tourism infrastructure, from airports to hotels, Chinese-friendly, Theocharis said.

[Xinhua]