Beijing officials visited Portugal and Spain last week to promote the tourism market of the Chinese capital, the state-run Chinese newspaper People’s Daily reported.

The aim of the visit, led by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development, was to attract more tourists from Southern Europe to travel to Beijing, the newspaper said.

The delegation, which also included representatives from six tourism agencies and companies, visited Portugal’s capital, Lisbon, on November 20. It held promotional activities there to outline the tourist attractions in Beijing.

Before its visit to Portugal, the delegation also attended a tourism exhibition, Ibtm world 2015, in Barcelona, Spain, from November 17 to 19.

According to the newspaper, Beijing received 3.65 million foreign travellers in 2014, with 1.23 million of them coming from Europe.