Flights directly linking China and Portugal will commence in June, the Portuguese news agency Lusa reports.

A protocol signed by the Portuguese tourism bureau, Turismo de Portugal, and the HNA aviation group will see three or four direct flights a week, Lusa says.

“This direct route is strategic for the development of the tourism sector in Portugal, as it makes the destination air competitive to this market, which is one of the world’s main tourist sources,” the Turismo de Portugal said in a statement.

About 106,000 Chinese tourists visited Portugal in the first seven months of this year, a 21.6-percent increase over the same period last year, the bureau says.