ATHENS – They’ll have to get in line behind Americans, Britons and Germans but with their country lifting COVID pandemic restrictions to allow travel, Chinese tourists are returning to Greece again after three years.

Despite a cool early spring depriving visitors of warmth – not counting the famous hospitality – arrivals are picking up fast as Greece too ended health measures to attract international travelers and it’s working.

In a feature, The Voice of America (VOA) noted how the Chinese are now walking the tourist areas of Athens and other popular areas around the country, with the islands a particular draw too.

Owner of a famous tavern and souvlaki spot in the popular tourist neighborhood of Plaka, Spiros Bairaktaris said he’s glad to see them back even if there’s plenty of others from many countries too.

“We await them with great love, from the bottom of our hearts. We want to host them, to feed them, to offer all our services,” he told the news site of the anticipation of the Chinese return.

https://www.voanews.com/a/greece-welcomes-return-of-chinese-travelers-/7062658.html

While their numbers are small for now, Greece expects momentum to build with summer over the horizon but approaching, the peak period when so many people that it can be overwhelming.

Greece is hoping for a record year that could bring in more than 31 million people – three times the country’s population – and that at least 200,000 Chinese will be among them as the ties between the countries grows.

Greek and Chinese officials rushed to finish deliberations and collaboration to make it easier and direct flights from China have resumed and Greece is making it easier for Chinese to get visas.

“In the past, we have seen that average spending from our friends from China was even double (that of) European travelers to Greece,” Deputy Tourism Minister Sofia Zacharaki told the news site.

What a difference three years and a pandemic can make. In the previous record year of 2019, some tourist areas grumbled there were too many Chinese among the visitors and that they were overtaking places like Santorini with lavish weddings and a flood of Instagram moments.

There’s worry that overtourism will resume and ruin the reason that the Chinese and other visitors come to visit Greece where some spots already resemble a faux Disneyland version of the country’s traditional image.

But there are a lot of other signs that the Chinese are welcome, popping up at taverns and restaurants beckoning them in Mandarin and even workers learning enough Chinese to help serve them.