The Portuguese Association of Travel Agencies and Tourism, known by the acronym APAVT, is eager to strengthen its co-operation with mainland Chinese agencies, Jornal Tribuna de Macau reported.

The newspaper quoted APAVT President Pedro Costa Ferreira as saying the association hoped to “enhance relations with China in two directions” by increasing the number of tourists visiting each country. Chinese tourism was a market “with great potential” and there was “a lot to develop and a lot to enjoy”.

The newspaper said Mr Ferreira made the comments at the 4th Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo (MITE) held at The Venetian Macao Resort last weekend.

Mr Ferreira was leading a delegation at the China-Portugal Tourism Promotion Seminar and Travel Mart. The event was designed to promote exchanges between tourism operators in China and Portuguese-speaking countries.