A woman sells Serbian traditional Kuglof cakes at the kuglof festival in Sremski Karlovci, Serbia, on May 25, 2019. (Xinhua/Shi Zhongyu)

Serbia sees a 71 percent year-on-year increase in Chinese tourist arrivals in first nine months of 2024. 

Serbia received 150,000 Chinese tourists in the first nine months of 2024, marking an increase of 71 percent year-on-year, according to Marija Labovic, director of the Tourism Organization of Serbia (TOS), at the China-Serbia tourism conference on Monday.

Emphasizing the event, which brought together Serbian and Chinese travel organizers, as crucial in strengthening tourism ties and bilateral cooperation, Labovic noted that Chinese tourists contributed to 288,000 overnight stays, ranking third among foreign visitors in Serbia.

Labovic attributed the growth to such factors as the recent launch of direct flights between Guangzhou and Belgrade, the upcoming connection to Shanghai, visa-free travel, and strong Serbia-China relations.

"The developments demonstrate the significant potential for further growth and collaboration," she added.

People visit a Chinese booth during the 44th Belgrade international tourism fair in Belgrade, Serbia, Feb. 23, 2023. (Xinhua/Shi Zhongyu)

Describing the Chinese market as one of Serbia's most promising tourism drivers, Uros Kandic, state secretary at the Ministry of Tourism and Youth, said "Chinese arrivals have already surpassed 2019 levels, and Serbia is the only European country to achieve this milestone. With three direct flights to China and a fourth on the way, we expect China to reclaim the top spot among foreign visitors next year."

While tourists from Turkey and Russia currently top the list, the rapid growth in Chinese arrivals indicates that China may soon surpass them in numbers, he added.

A delegation of Chinese travel organizers from Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong Province in southern China, is in Belgrade for a visit from Nov. 16 to Nov. 22. Organized by TOS and Air Serbia, the visit aims to further strengthen cooperation between the two countries' tourism industries.