The Danish tourism industry can expect a significant increase in Chinese tourists in the future following a new agreement between Denmark and the popular Chinese travel portal, Dianping.
The foreign minister, Anders Samuelsen, is in China this week to cement a deal that will open up the doors of Denmark to the 300 million Chinese tourists that use Dianping.
“We are the first nation in Europe – and one of the first in the world – to gain access to the travel portal, which is used by 300 million Chinese people,” said Samuelsen.
“Many Chinese probably don’t know us as a travel destination, so it’s imperative that we get the opportunity to brand Denmark as a tourism nation on the portal.”
READ MORE: Denmark unveils tourism agreement with China
Tourism year perks
Dianping is an online tourism portal, much like Tripadvisor, that allows users to read about the history and culture of prospective travel destinations – including information about attractions, restaurants, hotels and shopping.
The new deal is part of the ongoing Danish-Chinese tourism year 2017 and the government has agreed to make it easier for Chinese tourists to get visas to Denmark has part of the agreement.
“There is little doubt that the launch of the tourism year has been essential to landing the Dianping agreement,” said Samuelsen.
Samuelsen’s trip to China will start off in Shanghai, where he will take part in the tourism event Denmark Day, before moving on to Beijing, where he will meet with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and other Chinese state officials.
Denmark’s trade with China was worth 120 billion kroner in 2015, and over 50,000 jobs in Denmark are directly tied to export to China.
