A five-member business delegation from China's tourist destination city of 
Sanya, Hainan, is paying a visit to Latvia, Croatia and Hungary from August 
21st to 29th, as part of Sanya's efforts to promote its vast treasure trove of 
tourism resources in the Baltics and Nordic countries, with the goal of 
strengthening cooperation and business exchanges between Sanya and the cities 
in these two regions. The delegation is led by Rong Liping, Chairwoman of Sanya 
Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, 
and accompanied by officials from Sanya Municipal Committee of CPPCC, the Sanya 
Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports Bureau, and the Sanya Municipal 
Commerce Bureau. 

https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20190826/2560896-2 
Photo Caption: Sanya City (Riga) Promotion Event

From August 21st to 22nd, the delegation visited Latvia's Ministry of 
Transport, the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, and Riga 
International Airport. The delegation was warmly received by the director of 
the Aviation Department of Latvia's Ministry of Transport Arnis Muiznieks, the 
General Director of Investment and Development Agency Andris Ozols and Riga 
International Airport Chairman of Board Ilona Lice.

On August 23rd, the Sanya City (Riga) Promotion Event, one of the delegation's 
initiatives to expand knowledge of the city's many features with special appeal 
to tourists beyond the Chinese mainland, was held at the Radisson Blu Latvija 
Hotel in Riga. More than 60 guests, including Sun Yinglai, Charge d'affaires 
a.i. of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of Latvia 
and Shen Xiaokai, Economic and Commercial Counsellor at the Embassy of the 
People's Republic of China in the Republic of Latvia, Arturs Kokars, Advisor of 
the Board at Riga International Airport, Marta Ivaninoka-Cjina, Culture and 
Tourism Representative in China at the Investment and Development Agency of 
Latvia and representatives of Latvia's Chinese communities, in addition to 
tourism industry and media representatives from Latvia, Finland and Lithuania, 
were invited to participate in the promotional event.

In her speech at the event, Ms. Rong highlighted Sanya's visa-free policies for 
citizens from 59 countries (of which Latvia is one) and the features of Sanya 
that are particularly appealing to tourists and vacationers, concluding that 
"It's hard to fully describe in words the beauty, the vitality and the 
prospects of Sanya as a tourism destination." The Chinese Embassy's Economic 
and Commercial Counsellor Mr. Shen and Riga International Airport Advisor of 
Board Mr. Kokars also delivered speeches, expressing their support for 
collaborative exchanges and direct flights between Sanya and Riga.

Maksims Pipekevics, a representative from a travel agency, said at the event 
that "The three countries along the Baltics and the Nordic countries are all 
visa-free countries for travelers going to Hainan Province. Tourists from these 
countries do not need to take time to apply for visas and can stay in Sanya for 
up to 30 days. Sanya's visa-free tourism policy will become a major selling 
point."

Since the beginning of the year, Sanya has been actively organizing tourism 
promotion activities to help Sanya's tourism firms expand their international 
reach, attract foreign investment, as well as set up marketing channels and 
promotion centers overseas. The city has teamed up with the world's best-known 
tourism agencies, including Thomas Cook and  Colatour, to launch tourism 
roadshows around the world. Promotion centers are already in operation in 
regions and countries including Taiwan Province, Hong Kong Special 
Administrative Region of China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and India.

Source:Sanya Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports Bureau