Athens a Top Pick for Chinese Travelers

Chinese holidaymakers are choosing Athens as a leading destination for their travels in the coming 12 months, according to a survey released recently by online booking site hotels.com and research firm Ipsos.

According to the findings, Athens comes third (4 percent), after Paris at number 1 with 18 percent and London second with 5 percent in the preferences of Chinese travelers planning their holidays for the next 12 months. A total of 3 percent opted for Vienna, Berlin, Milan and Rome, and 2 percent preferred Munich, Amsterdam, Zurich and Geneva.

The survey compiled a list of destinations across Europe and the Middle East.

Greece is expected to attract over 1.5 million Chinese tourists in the coming years interested in discovering everything from sea and sun to shopping and culture.

For 2017, estimates place the number of Chinese visitors at over 170,000, up by 10-15 percent against 2016. Beijing and Shanghai tour operators are reporting a growing interest compared to 2016 for Santorini, Mykonos, Athens and Chania.

More than 122 million China nationals traveled abroad in 2016 up by 4.3 percent, with average spending per day up from 414 dollars in 2016 to 446 dollars this year, a rise of 8 percent.