Greece experiences surge in foreign visitors

Greece greeted 30.1 million foreign visitors last year and is hoping to see 33 million this year, up 10 percent year-on-year. The country, which has a population of 11 million, is now one of the world's top 10 tourism destinations.

The inflow of visitors, spending 17.1 billion euros ($20 billion) in Greece last year, saw the tourism industry account for 20 percent of the country's GDP, said Greek Ambassador to China Leonidas Rokanas.

Among them, the number of Chinese tourists grew by 40 percent last year to about 150,000 and is expected to expand by 50 percent year-on-year in 2018, he said.

China's Foreign Ministry estimates that Chinese travelers to Greece will number 1 million soon, according to Eleftherios Oikonomou, president of Athens-based Global Visa Center World Headquarters.

Rokanas said Greece's friendship and sound bilateral ties with China, as well as its natural beauty, appealed to Chinese tourists planning trips.

Like China, Greece's history dates back more than 5,000 years, and the country has a rich treasure of cultural relics for visitors to explore.

Strong Sino-Greek relations in the political, economic and cultural spheres are evidenced by Greece's strong support of the Belt and Road Initiative and booming Chinese investment in Greece in the logistics, transport and energy sectors, Rokanas said.

A beautiful and hospitable country, Greece has a 19,000-kilometer coastline, more than 100 inhabited islands and over 500 museums to entice Chinese tourists.

Dimitris Platis, CEO of GVCW Headquarters, said as Greece transitions out of an economic crisis, visitors are most welcome to come and explore.

He added that Greece opened a new visa application center in Beijing on June 7 to encourage more Chinese tourists to visit, taking the number of such centers in China to 15 nationwide.

More flexible and convenient services will be provided to Chinese applicants, he said, seeing vast potential in the future.

The Chinese made 130.51 million outbound trips in 2017, an annual rise of 7 percent, according to the Chinese Tourism Data Center.

To facilitate outbound tours, Air China opened a direct flight between Beijing and Athens twice a week in September, and expanded it to three times a week in March, said Emmanuel Stantzos, minister of economic and commercial affairs at the Greek Embassy in China.

Rokanas said he hopes more Chinese cities, such as Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangzhou in Guangdong province and Chengdu in Sichuan province will launch flights to Greece.

In 2016, one out of 10 Chinese tourists visiting the Mediterranean chose Greece for a trip, and this year, the rate could double, said Euthymios Athanasiadis, press and communication counselor at the Greek Embassy in China.

According to the embassy, Chinese visitors each spent some 931 euros daily on average while in Greece.

Tourism provided some 934,500 jobs in Greece in 2017, accounting for 24.8 percent of its total, and this year, the figure is expected to rise to 987,000.