With the first European Tour about to hit the road, major tour agents in China are busy making final preparations for their first domestic touring parties, which are due to set out Wednesday.

Back in August, 28 European countries announced that from September on, they will join Germany as easily accessible destinations for Chinese tourists.

Boosted by this news, popular holiday spots like Germany, France, Spain and Portugal have become a major source of custom for domestic tour agencies.

Meanwhile, European countries say they have made good preparations with mandarin speaking tour guides and Chinese food ready for the imminent influx of Chinese tourists.

Some countries have even prepared a special Cantonese service in order to attract tourists from Guangdong Province and Hong Kong.

In addition, in order to push forward the development of tourism between China and Europe, the Chinese civil aviation sector has decided to add more international flights to its schedule in order to provide better links to popular tourist resorts such as Rome and Paris.

The cost of a European tour per person is still unknown, but it is estimated to range from US$3000 to more than US$6000.

(CRI.com September 1, 2004)