BEIJING, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Beijing and Athens, as well as China and Greece on broader horizon, boast huge potential for cooperation in tourism, visiting Athens Mayor Georgios Kaminis told Xinhua here on Friday.
Kaminis, who is in Beijing on his maiden trip to China, said his main purpose is to seek approval from the Chinese side for the opening of a direct air route to Athens so as to attract more Chinese tourists to Greece, where tourism industry serves as a pillar of the economy and provides nearly 20 percent of employment.
Tourism earnings, which accounted for 16.5 percent of the country's GDP in 2011, fell by 4.6 percent year on year to 9.89 billion U.S. dollars in the first 11 month of 2012, according the central bank of Greece.
Kaminis said it is more cost-effective now to visit the ancient city of Athens, one of the most favored tourist destinations in the world, as the eurozone debt crisis has made tour there less expensive.
In Athens, tourists can set out on a shopping spree of world's top brands and feast on tasty traditional Greek cuisine, Kaminis said.
"We have traditional Greek cuisine, part of Mediterranean cuisine, which is nutritional and healthy. They can also enjoy a very good time and good weather," the major added.
Earlier on Friday, the mayor attended the first meeting of the Beijing-Athens Cooperation Committee, which was established to promote inter-city cooperation in commerce, agriculture and tourism.
Meanwhile, Kaminis said he came here also to promote a post-graduate program between the University of Athens and China's University of International Business and Economics on China-EU relations, and push for the establishment of a business council to attract more Chinese investments in Athens.
Chinese and Greek economies are highly complementary to each other, with China having a huge market while olive oil and red wine made in Greece sell well in China.
Although two-way trade between China and Greece has been dented by the global financial crisis and eurozone debt woes, Greek exports to China are growing.
According to Eurostat, the statistical service of the European Union, China-Greece trade during the first nine months of 2012 dropped by 21.8 percent year on year to 2.4 billion dollars while Greece's exports to China grew 18.7 percent to reach 290 million dollars.
The mayor acknowledged that the eurozone debt crisis has taken toll on Athens' economy over the last two years and a total of 20 hotels went bankrupt last year alone.
But Athens is bouncing back, he added. "Sure, the crisis has in some way rattled Athens. But crisis sometimes means opportunities as it forces the society to adapt itself to challenges."
