EU eyes flexible visa rules for China tourists (2)

Tajani said simplified visa application procedures for Chinese tourists will help the EU to attract more visitors because "the Chinese love Europe".

He added: "We see that the main problem in visa applications for Chinese is it is very time-consuming." The EU may introduce electronic visas to speed up the process.

He also proposed a pilot visa project to encourage more Chinese tourists to visit the EU and more Europeans to visit China during the 2015 Expo in Milan, Italy.

The EU very much welcomes visits by Chinese senior citizens, Tajani said. "They have a lot of money and a lot of time," he said. He added that a change in visa policies would be an important signal to Chinese people that they are very welcome in Europe.

Much must still be done to produce a dramatic increase in the number of Chinese visitors to Europe.

Tajani said that limited air services between China and Europe are another challenge in boosting travel to the EU.

The EC also signed an agreement with China's National Tourism Administration on Friday for cooperation in sustainable tourism. According to a joint statement, the parties will hold dialogues periodically and exchange tourism information.

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