Residents of most European Union countries will see more and
more Chinese tour groups shopping or sightseeing at local landmarks
in the next few months.
Yesterday, the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) and the
European Union signed a milestone memorandum of understanding,
which will facilitate more Chinese group tours to European
countries.
Chinese people will be able to travel to 12 countries of the 15
EU members through selected travel agencies.
Ireland, Denmark and the United Kingdom are not participating in
the present agreement. They are currently negotiating similar
bilateral accords with the CNTA.
The Chinese tourists will benefit from new facilitated
procedures to apply for tourist visas from the EU members which
have been granted "Approved Destination Status" (ADS) by China,
according to the agreement.
The new accord is expected to come into force before this
summer, and will generate significant flows of Chinese visitors to
Europe so as to boost EU-China tourism exchanges.
EU External Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten praised the
memorandum as good news for China and for Europe.
"I hope many will take up the new opportunity to travel. Human
contacts really do make a difference, and I believe this new
agreement will help Europe and China to understand each other
better, as well as bringing new commercial opportunities," Patten
said.
Similarly, CNTA spokesman Zhang Jianzhong said: "We are very
pleased and this is a very good beginning for our cooperation in
tourism. The next step for CNTA is to work hard to expand such
cooperation into all countries in European Union countries."
EU consulates in China will simplify and better facilitate
delivery of tourism visas for groups (with a minimum of 5 persons)
which apply through designated Chinese travel agencies. Meanwhile,
the CNTA has agreed to take back tourists who could possibly
overstay their visas according to the agreement.
Until now, Chinese tour groups were not allowed to travel to the
EU, and individual tourism was only possible with certain EU member
states. Other visitors have until now traveled to the EU on
different types of visas, such as for business or to visit
family.
To date, China has signed ADS agreements with 28 countries and
regions worldwide.
(China Daily February 13, 2004)