Residents in Crete, Greece, warmly welcomed 800 Chinese tourists who arrived at Heraklion port early on Friday morning, March 27, with the cruise ship Costa Atlantica. Several journalists, actors and writers were among the visitors. The regional unit of Crete and Heraklion Port Authority welcomed the tourists with traditional treats, traditional Greek and Cretan music played by bands, singers and accompanied by dancers. Later, the guests boarded on coaches to take a tour around the island’s archaeological sites such as Knossos, traditional villages and other places in Heraklion before leaving for the cruise ship at 7:00 pm to travel to Santorini and then Piraeus. The innovative cruise organized by Costa Cruises has become known worldwide. It departed from Shanghai and it is expected to last 86 days. Chinese tourists onboard the cruise ship will visit 28 destinations in 18 countries. Apart from Greece, they will also travel to Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, and the US. The ship will travel to three different Greek destinations – Crete, Santorini and Athens. According to the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO), the country will benefit from the cruise since it will receive worldwide media exposure through websites such as Sohu, television networks and tourist magazines. The Asian market, and especially the Chinese, is considered one of the most emerging in the international cruise industry over the next years.
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