Croatia welcomes more Chinese tourists

The Chinese economy has shown a steady and strong recovery, with 5.2 percent growth in 2023 and an expected 5.3 percent increase in 2024, and that is reflected in a significant increase in the number of Chinese tourists traveling abroad. 

According to Qunar and Trip.com, two of the largest online travel agencies in China, international flight bookings doubled last week compared to 2023's Golden Week holiday, which commemorates the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1.

Europe has seen the strongest growth, with Belgium and Croatia recording the single largest increase of Chinese tourist arrivals across Europe. As CGTN made our way around the Croatian capital Zagreb, we saw many Chinese tourists, with groups of them next to most historical landmarks. 

We spoke with Chinese tourists from Beijing posing for a group photograph at St. Marko's Square. It is the first time for them to be in this part of Europe, and they expect this to be an experience to remember.

Shen Guixiang was among them. Together with two other friends, she spent 40 days traveling around Croatia.

"It is beautiful. We have seen the whole of Croatia. I wish I could come again." Shen said.

Moving on to another group, we met Jiang Xiaoliang, a local tourist guide for Chinese groups arriving in Croatia. Jiang has lived here for 18 years and he's happy to see the rapid growth of China's tourist visits here. He has first-hand feedback on how the local tourism industry can attract more Chinese money.

"A group of around 30 people said that everyone had around 3,000 euros in cash, and they wanted to buy some local souvenirs." Jiang said. "But at the end they spent almost nothing because there wasn't anything they wanted to buy. They complained and said that something has to be done so they could spend more money in Croatia."

Ivan Rukavina, head of sales of one of the major local tourist agencies, agreed that Croatia has to do more.

"That means to offer more unique local products in a way that Chinese clients can see more of our traditions, more of some local culture, and special things that we only offer in Europe," Rukavina said.

In the meantime, Chinese tourists remain eager to visit and see what Croatia has to offer. The Croatian National Tourist Board is in charge of promoting the country around the world, with China being among their top priorities, as Saša Popovac told us.

"When we look at the level of satisfaction with their visit and experience of Croatia, security is the top aspect that they appreciate the most," Popovac revealed, "followed by overall satisfaction with stay and beauty of nature and landscape."

Most of the attractions that draw the tourists to Croatia are located along the beautiful Adriatic coastline, with some amazing islands, beaches and medieval cities. But when the summer ends here in Zagreb, tourist numbers start to rise. This also applies to Chinese visitors, with 150,000 of them coming to the country from the start of 2024.

Subscribe to Storyboard: A weekly newsletter bringing you the best of CGTN every Friday