The largest tourism promotion campaign launched by Portugal in Beijing began in early September seeking to attract an increasing share of Chinese tourists travelling abroad, the China Daily newspaper reported.

The Portuguese Secretary of State for Tourism, Ana Mendes Godinho, told the newspaper that Portugal will support China’s travel agents by providing information on tourist facilities to promote the country as a destination.

“We will continue to promote Portugal as a tourist destination in the Chinese market, where we will carry out campaigns with tour operators and hold promotional meetings in order to increase the country’s potential as a tourist destination,” said the Secretary of State.

The number of Chinese tourists that have been searching for destinations in Portugal has increased in recent years, rising to 200,000 in 2016, a 20% increase over 2015.

China Daily, after writing that Chinese tourists are now much more selective about the quality of their tourist destinations, says that Portugal has been trying to make sure that its share of Chinese tourists can grow.

Last July, Beijing Capital Airlines, of the HNA group, began flying between Hangzhou and Lisbon, the Portuguese capital, with a stopover in Beijing, the first air link between the two countries.

Secretary of State Ana Mendes Godinho said that these flights have had an occupancy rate of 85% from the outset, and there were signs that the number of weekly flights may increase. (macauhub)