Lisbon, 1st March 2017 - Lojas Francas de Portugal (LFP), the Tap Portugal-Dufry joint venture that operates the Portuguese airport stores, has obtained the Welcome Chinese Certification for all 30 stores that it operates across the Portuguese airports of Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Madeira, Ponta Delgada, Horta and Santa Maria.

The Welcome Chinese Certification is the travel service standard and travel platform dedicated to Chinese passengers.  It is sponsored by the China Tourism Academy (CTA) - China's main governmental research and promotion institute under the Chinese National Tourism Authority (CNTA) - and aims to upgrade the services dedicated to Chinese national travellers, as well as facilitate entry into the Chinese travel industry.

Participating in the Welcome Chinese Certification programme means entering into a partnership with CTA and enjoying a number of benefits designed to promote the travel business in the Chinese market within the framework of a government project.

“We decided to start the process to be awarded the Welcome Chinese Certification for all our stores in all of the airports where we operate; Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Madeira, Ponta Delgada, Horta and Santa Maria, as we consider it to be an effective way to meet the requirements of Chinese passengers that pass daily through our shops. We wanted our stores to be ready and qualified to provide excellent service to the Chinese travellers, as it is likely that direct air links between Portugal and China will open this year, increasing the number of passengers of this nationality and we wanted to be prepared to welcome them in the best way possible" explains José Carlos Rosa, Managing Director of Lojas Francas de Portugal.