A growing number of Chinese visitors offer huge market potential, Fu Jing reports from Athens.

Before 56-year-old Elena Kountoura moved into politics, she was an internationally-renowned model in Paris and Athens, and a seasoned traveler to China, having visited in 1989 and 1998 to promote fashion.

She was struck by how wide the roads were in Beijing when she first visited, and by how there were so many bicycles. The second time, she was amazed at how cars had replaced the bicycles.

"Now, I am excited about my third trip to China," she said in an exclusive interview with China Daily.

The graceful model-turned tourism minister is busy with her trip to China, for which she is conducting warm-up and follow-up activities for Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' visit to the country for the Belt and Road Initiative Forum for International Cooperation.

Following his official visit to China last year, Tsipras is among dozens of foreign leaders attending the Belt and Road forum, which is being held in Beijing.

Sitting in her office, a stone's throw from the historic Greek Parliament building in downtown Athens, Kountoura said her trips to China offer profound perspectives to observe the country's rapid changes over the decades.

Kountoura said part of her mission is to attract more Chinese tourists to Greece. Two promotions are scheduled for Beijing and Shanghai in May and June, respectively.

Showing an Athens map printed in Chinese, she said: "I am ready to welcome China's growing middle class to visit my country, with its long civilization."

Kountoura expects direct flights between Beijing and Athens will help attract more Chinese tourists. It has been reported that Air China is re-launching its Beijing-Athens flight this year, with a stopover in Germany's Munich.

She promises that her ministry will work to ensure Chinese tourists can easily get a visa from the Greek embassy.

Kountoura said that more than 100,000 people applied for a tourist visa last year at the Greek embassy in China, and that additional tourists made their way to Greece via other European countries.

With tourism, one of the few growth sectors in the country's sluggish economy as it has battled through its sovereign debt crisis, the Greek government is aiming to increase the number of its inbound tourists, from about 28 million last year to 30 million this year.

Kountoura said China is a growing market for Greece, which has relied on tourism to contribute around one-fifth of its economic output and its new jobs.

Statistics indicate that tourists from China numbered around 200,000 last year. Greece is determined to boost that number to 1 million by 2021.

"If we have more direct flights, it will be easier and more convenient for Chinese visitors," she said. "I would like to welcome more Chinese. I hope the number will be 500,000 next year."

She said Greece is promoting the concept of destinations being open to tourists for 365 days a year, expanding its tourism sector to include holidays that focus on culture, adventure sports, nature and other areas.

As to trends among Chinese tourists, she noted that Chinese people who travel to Greece tend to stay for longer than six days.

"As we understand it, when Chinese people make such a long trip, they want to see more of Europe," she said. "They want to see Greece and another country. And usually they stay more than a week."

Kountoura said Chinese tourists are "good spenders", who leave behind more money than the average holidaymaker.

"Because Chinese, American or Australian tourists are coming from overseas, they have a bigger average of spending than Europeans. That's for sure," she said.

She also said many young Chinese couples are now traveling to Greece to get married, or for their honeymoon, something that has really taken off in the past two years.

"We still want to develop this product to make sure tourists enjoy their stay in Greece and have a wonderful time," she said.

But she said Greece is not only about its islands, noting that her country hosted the first International Western Silk Road Workshop in Alexandroupolis on April 26 and 27.

"Greece is supportive of the Belt and Road Initiative and tourism can contribute to the China-led proposal, especially by promoting cultural tourism," she said.

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(China Daily 05/14/2017 page48)