More Chinese to visit Italy, Switzerland

Joining the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) would be a good choice for countries around the world as it brings joint economic development, cultural exchanges and jobs.

Release time : 2019-04-28 17:07:31

source : Global Times

Joining BRI builds bonds of friendship, promotes economic exchanges

Joining the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) would be a good choice for countries around the world as it brings joint economic development, cultural exchanges and jobs. It seems that the most immediate benefit for those who sign a BRI deal is a tourism boom driven by Chinese visitors as peak vacation season approaches.

The most recent example is Italy. The European country's search popularity increased 28 percent month-on-month in March, the month when it signed a BRI memorandum of understanding with China, data provided to the Global Times by domestic online travel platform Mafengwo.com showed.

Italy was the first G7 member to sign a BRI deal and also the largest economy - eighth-largest in the world - to join the BRI by far, according to media reports.

Xu Xiaolei, manager of marketing at China's CYTS Tours Holding Co, said that during the upcoming May Day holidays, which have been extended from three to four days by the State Council, China's cabinet, the number of Chinese tourists going to Italy is expected to grow by about 20 percent compared with the same time last year.

In a recent interview with the Global Times, Italian Ambassador to China Ettore Francesco Sequi, said that the two countries have broad cooperation opportunities in the tourism sector. Italy established 11 new visa centers in China in 2016, and Chinese tourists can get now a visa within 36 hours.

A report from the China Tourism Academy said that Italy is rated by Chinese travellers as the most popular destination in Europe, second only to Russia.

Xu told the Global Times on Sunday that Switzerland, another European country that is set to join the BRI, is expected to see an increase of around 15 to 20 percent in Chinese tourists during the May Day holidays this year.

In a statement on April 16, the Swiss Federal Department of Finance announced that President Ueli Maurer will pay a state visit to