Denmark and China have signed an agreement for the 2017 tourism year in order to boost the tourism industry in both nations.
China has inked similar agreements with Russia, the US, India and South Korea, but Denmark is the first country to enter into a joint tourism deal with the Chinese.
The Danes hope the deal with boost overnight stays by Chinese tourists in Denmark by 25 percent over the next two years and increase the average time spent by Chinese tourists in Denmark from 1.5 to 2 days by 2018.
”We can see from some of the other nations with tourism-year agreements with China that they’ve experienced significant increases in Chinese tourists – during the tourism year, but particularly in subsequent years,” said the business minister, Brian Mikkelsen.
“And we know that the Chinese spend lots of money when they travel. So this is something that will benefit the traditional Danish tourism industry, but also the retail industry, in the long run.”
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Gunning for growth
The deal is expected to be officially signed by the end of February in connection with Mikkelsen’s trip to China to take part in the opening ceremony of the tourism year.
In Denmark, the tourism year will include a ’China Day’ business-to-business event in Copenhagen for Chinese tour operators, airlines, journalists and bloggers to attend, while a similar ’Denmark Days’ will be held in China.
The news comes as Denmark gets ready to celebrate the 150-year anniversary of HC Andersen’s anointment as a citizen of honour in Odense. The children’s author is particularly popular in China.
In 2015, the Chinese ranked 11th in Denmark for overnight stays, but 2016 saw visitor numbers stagnate.
