CHINESE TOURISTS INCREASE IN HUNGARY
Last year, Hungary received more than 170,000 Chinese tourists, a 35.7-percent rise compared to that in 2015, according to the Hungarian Tourism Agency.
Chinese visitors account for as much as 3.3 percent of last year's total international arrivals, which stood at 5.3 million.
The China-CEE Tourism Coordination Center (TCC), established in May 2014 in Budapest, played an important role in luring more Chinese tourists to Hungary.
MORE CHINESE VISITORS IN CZECH REPUBLIC
Last year, Czech hotels attracted 354,700 Chinese tourists, a 52.9-percent increase than in 2015, according to the country's statistic institute.
Lying in the heart of Europe, the country attracted 7.1 million foreign tourists last year, almost 5 percent of whom came from China.
The Bohemian city of Prague attracted the majority of the Chinese visitors.
SLOVAKIA ATTRACTING MORE CHINESE VISITORS
Although Slovakia is a small country, its castles, towns and mountains saw a rebound in tourism arrivals last year, to a record of over 5 million. Extensive international media coverage of the country's presiding of the EU Council in the second half of 2016 could be part of the reason why the number of tourists soared.
Foreign visitors rose by 17.8 percent in 2016 from the previous year to 2.02 million, and the number of Chinese tourists rose by 46.8 percent to over 41,300 visitors from 28,100, according to stakeholders' statistics.
GOOD POLICIES HELPING CEE ATTRACT MORE CHINESE TOURISTS
The European Travel Commission's latest report suggests that the number of Chinese tourists will grow from 3.9 million tourists in 2016 at an annual rate of 7.9 percent in the next five years.
"China's economic growth is expected to remain stable, as it continues to adopt proactive fiscal policies," said the ETC report.
Apart from simplifying visa application procedures and establishing direct flights with Chinese cities to reduce travel fees, CEE countries should also enhance the region's attraction for Chinese tourists, including opening up the tourism industry to Chinese investment, said Romania's tourism minister.
"Romania's Ministry of Tourism will continue to develop good relations with China. We will also encourage further cooperation with Chinese partners in tourism investments, as our country has inestimable opportunities to capitalize on the tourism potential," he added
The regional countries' participation in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative helps them lure more Chinese tourists. Experts say more Chinese-tailored tourism products need to be developed to attract an increasing number of Chinese tourists.
