As spring starts and people start planning their summer vacations Serbia is expecting a surge of Chinese tourists. Serbia became the first country in central and eastern Europe to waive the visa requirement for Chinese tourists, since the bilateral visa-free deal came into force in January. So far the number of tourists coming from China has not been particularly high but Serbia hopes to change that, putting on events in Beijing to promote its tourism industry to coincide with their president's visit to China on Friday.
The economic imperative to attract Chinese tourists is compelling. Fan Jingyan, the Head of External Relations of Ctrip.com, said their data revealed Chinese tourists in Serbia spend on average 230 dollars per night on a hotel room, and spend 3,200 dollars in the country.
However, strong growth may take time and effort. Chen Binchao, the manager of Beijing Utour International Travel Service, said there hasn't been a remarkable growth in their package tours to Serbia, the reason might be that no direct flights between the two countries are currently available.
On the bright side, even though the numbers are small they are increasing. There has already been 102% growth in the number of tourists coming from China to Serbia in comparison to the same period of last year, according to Marija Labovic, the CEO of National Tourism Organization of Serbia.
Serbia is also improving its infrastructure, including Chinese-speaking tourist guides and tourist board information cards that are translated into Chinese in the capital city Belgrade, and hopefully in the rest of the country soon.
