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GREECE: Chinese Turn Up, At the Right Time

Antoaneta Becker

HYDRA, Greece, Nov 4 2010 (IPS) - The clichés of the China man in Greece are quickly unraveling. The cheap clothing trader and the small Chinese restaurant owner are still there. Chinese masseuses are still trawling the beaches in search for customers. This familiar crowd, though, is increasingly overtaken by throngs of picture-snapping and cash-dolling Chinese tourists.

They spill off the boat cruises on the cobbled streets of Hydra island buying silver jewelry, copper ware and sipping frapuchinos (ice coffees) in small taverns overlooking the picturesque harbour. They marvel at the maze of narrow alleys and honey-coloured buildings in Venetian and neo-classical style. The more adventurous hire the only available transport here, donkeys, to climb the steep rocks hanging above the jumble of the noble town.

Feng Yixing from Shanghai spent 15,000 euros chartering a 50ft yacht and a skipper to sail the Saronic islands with his family. Feng brought his wife, two children, parents and a maid to help with looking after the elderly and the children. The yacht, equipped with five cabins, kitchen and a lounge, is proudly moored in the harbour while the family is out exploring the town. The maid is seen hanging colourful washing on the deck blowing in the wind like medieval banners.

“They are the new Russians,” says the yacht’s skipper, “they love luxury and have the means to afford it”.

Rich Chinese tourists are quickly becoming the new wave of income for Greek tourist officials, yacht owners and small businesses. They were not put off at the least by the anti-austerity riots and deaths that shook the Greek capital this summer and scared away many European tourists. By contrast, they saw it as an opportunity to get some bargain cruise deals and tour packages.

“I have been wanting to go to Greece ever since I watched their Olympic Games opening ceremony (in 2004),” says Li Hui, a diminutive business woman from the central Chinese city of Wuhan. “I have been to many places in Southeast Asia but Europe always seemed too expensive and I had to wait for the right moment.”

The right moment came this year when Greece’s piles of public debts came to light and the pain of fiscal retrenchment plunged the country in turmoil. Many foreign visitors cancelled trips after the deaths of three people, including a pregnant woman, in rioting in Athens on May 5 against government cuts imposed to secure a European Union and IMF bailout worth 110 billion euros.

Tourist arrivals in Greece fell 1.3 percent in the first seven months compared with the same period in 2009, according to the Association of Greek tourism Enterprises. Germans and Britons who make up about a third of about 15 million annual visitors to Greece were among those with the most cancellations.

Greek tourist officials did not waste time to turn the downside into an opportunity. In May they worked together with Turkish tourist agencies to attract Chinese tourists to the region with a plan for 25 offices in Istanbul and Athens all aimed at Chinese visitors.

In June, Greek Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos travelled to Beijing to promote Greece’s beaches, temples and culture. There was a momentum to build on. According to a survey, in 2005, the year after Greece hosted the Olympic games, the country was voted China’s favorite tourist destination.

Unlike going to Western Europe where Chinese tourists tend to hop from country to country in quick succession, shopping and sightseeing in a whirlwind packaged tours, Greece makes for a trip on its own.

“Greece is less about shopping than about enjoyment,” says Cheng Ziying from the eastern Shandong province who is on her honeymoon trip in Hydra. “I love its classical beauty and the small towns on the islands are really romantic. It is simply perfect for a honeymoon.”

The numbers of Chinese tourists are still small compared to the traditional tourist sources. About 50,000 Chinese visited Greece last year, but Greek tourist officials hope this year they will have ten times more.

“I have to say, during Chinese national holidays, sometimes all you see in the streets of cities and islands in Greece are Chinese tourists,” Elena Mitraki, director of the Greek National Tourism Organisation’s Beijing office said last month. “And we are very pleased with this fact,” she told the China Daily.

Panayotis Makridakis who owns a curio shop on the harbourside in Hydra greets Chinese tourists at his place every day during the tourist season.

“Chinese people love Hydra,” he says. “They are amazed we have no cars and can’t stop photographing the donkeys that carry stuff around. Many have lots of money to spend but don’t know what is valuable. We value every stone and brick but they keep asking me what the point of displaying these old things is.”

 
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