The flow of Chinese tourists to Syria has increased over the past year, marking the revival of the country's tourism sector, which is due to the victories of the Syrian army and Russia's assistance, Syrian Tourism Minister Besher Riad Yazji told Sputnik in an interview.
DAMASCUS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th September, 2018) The flow of Chinese tourists to Syria has increased over the past year, marking the revival of the country's tourism sector, which is due to the victories of the Syrian army and Russia's assistance, Syrian Tourism Minister Besher Riad Yazji told Sputnik in an interview.
"Recently we had a meeting with the Chinese ambassador to Syria, and last year in China we had a meeting with the Chinese minister of tourism. Indeed, the return of Chinese tourists to Syria has begun. Despite the fact that the number of tourists from China is still relatively small, the tourist flow from China, India and Pakistan to Syria grew by 68 percent over the past year," Yazji said on the sidelines of the 60th Damascus International Fair.
The minister praised the role of the Russian Aerospace Forces in the restoration of the tourism sector in Syria.
"As to numbers, last year the tourist flow amounted to 1.3 million people. This year, we see a 37-percent increase, compared to the previous year. The victories that the heroes of the Syrian army carried out in cooperation with Russia played a big role in the return of tourism to Syria," he said.
With further improvements in the security situation, the tourism sector and cooperation with investors in the field of tourism in Syria will grow, the minister stressed.
"We offer great incentives to all investors. We have projects that started two years ago, some have already been launched. Now more than 1,000 objects of tourism infrastructure, including restaurants and hotels, have resumed work. Now tourists are coming to us from all over the world," Yazji said.
Tourists from 77 countries had visited Syria in 2017, the minister added.
"Most tourists come to Syria from Lebanon, Iraq. As for non-Arab countries, most tourists are from Russia and Eastern Europe," he said.
Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with the government forces fighting against numerous opposition groups and terrorist organizations.
The annual Damascus International Fair began on Thursday and will last through September 15. It is the oldest fair in the middle East which was held for the first time in 1954. The event was canceled following the start of the civil war in Syria but was resumed again in 2017.
