BUDAPEST, May 14 (Xinhua) -- The people to people exchange between China and Hungary is becoming more and more frequent and Chinese tourists to Hungary exceeds the quarter million mark in 2018, a Chinese official told Xinhua on Tuesday.

"Last year,a total of 256,000 Chinese tourists visited Hungary, a 11.06 percent increase year-on-year," said Cui Ke, director of China National Tourist Office, Budapest.

According to Cui, in the same period, a total of 23,600 Hungarian tourists visited China, up 4.89 percent year-on-year.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Hungary and China, with more direct flights launched this year, the tourists exchange between the two countries are expected to increase in the future, Cui added.

Due to the ever-increasing number of Chinese passengers coming to Hungary, Budapest Airport is putting extra efforts into services offered to Chinese travelers to improve the comfort of their journey, the airport announced earlier in May.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto also pointed to the steadily increasing number of tourists from China to Hungary, recalling that the volume exceeded the quarter million mark in 2018, thanks to the opening of 14 Hungarian visa offices in China and direct flights connecting Hungary with China.