Huge rise in Chinese visitors for Serbia and Montenegro

The European Travel Commission has revealed the latest travel statistics for the first part of 2018.

The figures show that demand for European travel amongst Chinese business people and tourists has grown significantly.

A Chinese female visitor at a town in European country. [Photo: IC]

Showing the greatest level of increase were Serbia, where the number of visitors from China grew by 254 percent, and Montenegro with a rise of 153 percent.

There were also strong gains for Croatia (46 percent), Poland (30 percent), and Finland (20 percent).

The Commission’s report highlights the fact that new air routes between China and Europe have helped to boost tourism, alongside 2018 being an official EU-China Tourism Year.

It also demonstrated that many non-EU countries have also seen a growing number of Chinese visitors.

These include Turkey, which has made a significant effort to attract tourists from China.

Speaking about the report, Eduardo Santander, Executive Director of ETC, said:

”It is key that tourism organisations continue strengthening collaboration under the umbrella of a common European approach and positioning. European destinations are called to provide more personalised experiences, facilitate travel from overseas markets and better address social, environmental and technological trends and challenges.”