Brussels, 02/09/2004 (Agence Europe) - Chinese tourist groups will from 1 September on be able to visit most countries of the European Union that have been recognised since May as an "authorised destination" by the Chinese government, AFP recalls. Until now, only individual tourism was possible in some Member States. From now on, procedures for obtaining tourist visas for groups (minimum five people) issued by EU consulates in China will be simplified. Schengen visas for a maximum 30 days will be issued by signatory countries while national visas will be issued by the new EU Member States (pending their accession to the Schengen area, probably toward 2007). Ireland, the Untied Kingdom and Denmark, which are not part of Schengen, are not concerned by this agreement called "Authorised Destination Status". In 2002, 645,000 Chinese tourists came to the EU as opposed to 1.3 million European tourists to China.