Lesser-known destinations beckon

About 12.5 million Chinese visited Europe last year, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

Six of the world's 10 leading destinations in terms of international tourist arrivals are in Europe - France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Germany and the United Kingdom.

However, Frantisek Reismuller, director of China operations for the European Travel Commission, says there is growing interest among Chinese visitors in less-visited European countries.

They enjoy Southern Europe's sea views and leisure, Northern Europe's nature and the northern lights, and Central Europe's cultural heritage, he says.

Inese Liepina, the Latvian embassy's first secretary in China, says the country will open a Schengen visa application center in Beijing in mid-April - its first in China. It plans to open 14 such centers nationwide within two years.

She says her government also plans to start the first direct flight between China and Latvia - between Chengdu, the Sichuan provincial capital, and Riga.

Chinese visitors love colorful Latvian cultural celebrations, Liepina says. They also visit during Christmas because Riga claims to have had the world's first decorated Christmas tree in 1510.

Chinese can also enter Montenegro using valid visas to Schengen countries, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland or the United States, according to Vatroslav Belan, first counselor in its embassy in Beijing.

Chinese tourists like to travel to as many destinations as possible during trips, so they often visit Montenegro's neighbors, Serbia and Slovenia, he says.

(China Daily European Weekly 04/01/2016 page18)