BEIJING, May 22 (People's Daily Online) – Chinese tourists will get more conveniencewith the help of newly launched Finland visa application centre in Beijing, Jari Gustafsson,Finland's ambassador to China said at the inauguration of the centre on Friday.
Approved by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Embassy of Finland in Beijing set upnew visa application centre in Beijing and Shanghai. The new centre in Beijing will be putinto operation from May 25, 2015 and that in Shanghai is put into use from May 22, 2015.
According to statistics by VisitFinland.com, official website of Finland's Tourism Bureau,Chinese tourists who accommodated in Finland increased by 33 per cent year-on-year inthe first two months in 2015. Gustafsson says that the establishment of the visa applicationcentre is one of the methods to upgrade tourism service of Finland.
The new application centre will offer more services including translation, photocopy andmailing. Applicants cannot enjoy these services in the embassy before, according to KirsiPuronpaa, First Secretary for Consular Affairs of Finnish Embassy to China. "There will bemore place and staff members here than before. All staff members are trained by ourembassy."
Puronpaa said that the center will open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. while the embassy is openfrom 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. "The waiting hours at the center will be shorter than in theembassy," the consular said.
A tourism agency in Beijing is among the first applicants at the opening ceremony. "I thinkwith the help of the centre, visa application will be more efficient. Applicants will not bebothered to submit application material many times," says Zhang Rui, Deputy GeneralManager of Outbound Tourism Company, Beijing UTour International Travel Service.
According to Finland's ambassador to China, Chinese tourists may have access to UnionPay in shops in Finland in the future.
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