More and more Chinese tourists are turning to Central and Eastern European countries as destination countries.
Recently, the tourism industry has shown an accelerated recovery trend, and niche outbound destinations have burst into new vitality. The overseas edition of People's Daily mentioned in a report on April 21 that Hungary, Serbia and other Central and Eastern European countries have become dark horses for outbound travel during the May Day holiday.
The unique cultural atmosphere and rich history make these destinations stand out. In May this year, a national-level event may help Central and Eastern Europe become the next popular destination for outbound tourism.
The 3rd China-CEEC Expo and International Consumer Goods Fair and the 24th China Zhejiang Investment and Trade Fair will be held in Ningbo from May 16 to 20. The exhibition specially set up the service trade exhibition area of Central and Eastern European countries, which will display the cooperation and exchange content of the two sides in humanities and tourism, provide a window for visitors to understand Central and Eastern European countries, and also open up a broader space for the two countries to enhance friendship, expand cooperation and seek common development.
Relevant industry insiders said that the convening of the CEE Expo has built a platform for the development of tourism business and enhanced confidence. Under the model of government setting up and enterprise linkage, the prospects of tourism in Central and Eastern Europe are promising.
Central and Eastern Europe Expo special tourism section
This year is the beginning of the new decade of cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries, and this CEEC Expo is also the first large-scale institutional exhibition facing Europe after the full restart of international exchanges.
Different from previous editions, CEE is the first time to set up a professional exhibition format, setting up a CEE characteristic commodity exhibition area, focusing on CEE agricultural food, wine, dairy products and other categories. In addition, the expo also pays attention to the strong demand for exports and tourism in Central and Eastern European countries, sets up trade matchmaking meetings, and arranges tourism special exhibitions.
Rich historical and cultural heritage, unique architectural heritage, lush forests, majestic waterfalls, endless blue coastline... In the Croatian exhibition area, the Croatian National Tourism Agency and Uniline Travel Agency, one of the largest tour companies in Croatia, will show visitors the beautiful natural scenery of Croatia. In the Bulgarian exhibition area, dozens of participating tourism institutions brought a large number of personalized tourism products and itineraries, bringing the picturesque Bulgaria located on the Black Sea coast to the audience. Bordering the Baltic Sea to the north, Poland has more than 500 kilometers of coastline and golden beaches, hundreds of palaces and castles hidden in the south and southwest, and more than 40 nationally certified spa resorts and many spa hotels.
As the guest of honor of this expo, Hungary also has an independent exhibition area, which will focus on its three-dimensional and colorful national image and the achievements of Central and Eastern European cooperation.
It is worth mentioning that in early April, 17 Chinese group tourists flew to Budapest. This is the first batch of Chinese official ADS visa tour groups to travel to Hungary after Hungary was listed by China as one of the first 20 countries to pilot the resumption of outbound group travel by Chinese citizens. Jaqab Zofia, Deputy Director General of the Hungarian National Tourism Administration, said that the Hungarian tourism industry attaches great importance to the Chinese market and hopes that more Chinese tourists can spend more time deeply experiencing the beauty of Hungary and understanding Hungary's "more than Budapest" side.
With the optimization of relevant measures and the orderly opening up of outbound tourism, tourists and tourism practitioners are also looking forward to embracing a larger world.
This year is the third time that Zhou Yue, General Manager of "Central and Eastern European House", has participated in the CEEC Expo, and he believes that the introduction of the Expo into the tourism sector is an important opportunity to vigorously promote the tourism industry of CEE countries. This year, they plan to open 60 offline stores of "Central and Eastern European House" across the country, integrating commodity exhibition, tourism promotion and cultural experience, so that the concept of Central and Eastern Europe can enter thousands of households.
"CEEC has strengthened our confidence in developing tourism business and built a platform for the tourism industry. Under the model of government setting up the stage and enterprises linking, I have strong confidence in the future prospects of CEE tourism. Zhou Yue said.
When it comes to the tourism advantages of Central and Eastern Europe, Zhou Yue summarizes three aspects. The first is the advantage of visa-free: since Serbia implemented a full visa exemption for China on February 9, 2017, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Montenegro have successively granted visa-free or liberalized visa policies to China, and "walk-and-go travel" has become a reality for Chinese tourists. The second is the advantage of direct flights: at present, Beijing and Tianjin have opened direct flights. The third is the advantage of Internet celebrities: in recent years, countries such as Serbia and Hungary have impressed China and become Internet celebrity countries in the eyes of everyone. "More importantly, in the past 10 years, the cooperation mechanism between China and Central and Eastern European countries has been deepened, and economic and trade cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, two-way investment and other fields have gone hand in hand, allowing more Chinese people to know Central and Eastern Europe and like Central and Eastern Europe, which has greatly promoted the development of tourism in Central and Eastern Europe." Zhou Yue said.
Ningbo continues to promote tourism cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries
Public reports show that the number of Chinese tourists to Central and Eastern European countries has increased fourfold in the past 10 years, with 30 direct flights per week. As the venue of the China-CEEC Expo, Ningbo has set the goal of building a preferred place for people-to-people exchanges between China and CEEC.
From the launch of the China (Ningbo)-CEEC Tourism Cooperation and Exchange Week, to the establishment of the "Southeast Zhejiang Central and Eastern European Two-way Tourism Promotion Alliance", to the city image of "Haisi Ancient Port Smiling Ningbo" in Central and Eastern Europe, to the Central and Eastern European tourists to form groups to eat tangyuan and taste seafood... One by one, vivid cases have witnessed the achievements of tourism cooperation between Ningbo and Central and Eastern European countries.
From February 23 to 26 this year, the 44th Belgrade International Tourism Expo was held at the Belgrade Exhibition Center in Serbia, with China as the guest of honor. As a member of the Chinese delegation, Ningbo went to Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece, injecting new vitality into expanding tourism cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries, stimulating service trade and deepening people-to-people exchanges.
Zhou Yue believes that tourism is an important part of the field of people-to-people exchanges. Ningbo has the fertile soil and policy support for undertakings in Central and Eastern Europe, and will rapidly promote bilateral deepening and pragmatic cooperation in various subdivisions.
During this year's CEE Expo, CEE countries will not only show their urban scenery, but also attract tourists with unique food and goods. Central and Eastern European countries have excellent natural conditions and developed animal husbandry, their agricultural products and food are "green, healthy and high-quality", and products such as dairy products, meat, edible oil and other popular domestic consumers in Central and Eastern Europe will be displayed in a concentrated manner. In addition, special agricultural products such as saffron flowers in Kozanisi, Greece, will also be in close contact with visitors.
Lan Yue, who was associated with "Central and Eastern Europe" at the CEE Expo Perennial Exhibition, has been engaged in CEE-related work since graduating from university, and CEEC has participated in the CEE Expo without landing. She was deeply attracted by the culture of Central and Eastern Europe and saw broad development prospects, and she officially embarked on the road of entrepreneurship two years ago. Today, she is the director of the Greek Pavilion of the Perennial Pavilion of Characteristic Commodities of Central and Eastern European Countries and the person in charge of Lantu International People-to-People Exchange Base. She said that every country in Central and Eastern Europe is worth learning more about, such as Slovenia, which has romance from the beginning of its name, because its English Slovenia carries love, and sweet wines are also abundant. Another example is Greece, known as the cradle of European civilization, with rich historical sites and world-famous agricultural products such as olive oil and frankincense. "We are not only digging for the treasures of Central and Eastern Europe, but also looking forward to people coming to learn about the history, culture and cuisine of Central and Eastern European countries, and feel real enthusiasm and fun from them." Lan Yue said.
"The relationship between commodities and tourism is a two-way rush, complementing each other, influencing each other, and organically integrating tourism and commodities, which is the general trend in the future." Zhou Yue believes that under the background of the China-CEEC cooperation mechanism, more cities may open direct flights or charter flights with CEEC countries in the future to solve the current travel problems of CEEC countries.
Approaching the Central and Eastern Europe Expo, good news continues one after another. According to Ningbo Daily, the passenger route from Ningbo to Budapest, Hungary, is scheduled to officially open at the end of May, with one weekly departure. In addition, travel products related to Central and Eastern Europe are also being designed, and citizens and tourists will have more overseas travel destinations to choose from in the future. New opportunities for tourism cooperation between China and CEE countries continue to emerge, and a new blueprint will start from here.