SARAJEVO — China and Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) vowed in Sarajevo on Nov 24 to enhance cooperation in the field of tourism.

Speaking at the third ministerial summit on cooperation in tourism between China and CEEC, Vice-Chairman of China National Tourism Administration Du Jiang stressed that the Chinese government attaches great importance to tourism development.

“We are pleased to see that in recent years, tourism cooperation between China and CEEC has made notable advances,” said Du.

According to Du, between 2011 and 2016, two-way tourist exchange between China and CEEC increased from 507,000 to 1,249,000, up by 146.3 percent.

Mirko Sarovic, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, said at the meeting that the number of Chinese tourists to BiH has increased five times in the past five years.

In a joint statement adopted by the meeting, China and CEEC agreed to support the strengthening of the existing as well as creation of the new platforms for the exchange of tourism offers and information.

They also agreed to initiate the establishment of thematic tourism routes linking the tourism offer of China and CEEC in the field of world cultural heritage.