(ANSA-XINHUA) - SHANGHAI, AUGUST 21 - China saw a rapid
growth of tourists going to Central and Eastern European
countries in the first half of the year, thanks to the opening
of more direct flights, according to a new report.
The report, jointly issued by the China Tourism Academy and
China's largest online travel agency Ctrip, recorded 3 million
visits by Chinese tourists to Europe in the first half of the
year, marking a 7.4-percent rise year on year.
In break-down, the number of Chinese tourists to Croatia and
Latvia surged by more than 500 percent, while the increase rates
were over 400 percent for visitors to Slovenia and Bulgaria and
300 percent for Estonia and Albania, said the report.
The report said favorable visa and exchange rate policies
have boosted the surging interest in Central and Eastern Europe.
In particular, it gives credit to many newly-opened direct
flights to European cities, including the opening of the
Shanghai-Budapest flight and the Beijing-Baku flight earlier
this year.
According to the China Tourism Academy, the number of Chinese
tourists to Europe exceeded 6 million in 2018, with Eastern
Europe accounting for 36.3 percent, the highest share of the
total. (ANSA-XINHUA).
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