A complaint by Chinese tourists about the lack of kettles in Italy's hotel rooms has been brought to the attention of Eugenio Magnani, general director of ENIT, the Italian state tourism board.

"It would be perfect for our trip if kettles were provided in our rooms so we can make our tea," said Ouyang Fangxing, a 40-something journalist from Beijing, who seemed to be speaking for many Chinese tourists visiting the country.

"Other than that, we have had a great trip to the land of Marco Polo and Leonardo da Vinci."

Comforting his guests with the thought that Italy has the best coffee in the world, Magnani promised to deal with the matter.

"Maybe we could provide thermos flasks instead," he told visiting Chinese journalists at his Rome office.

With the number of Chinese tourists visiting Italy growing steadily - "10 percent to 20 percent annually" according to Magnani - all this kettle talk indicates the country is trying its best to make Chinese guests feel at home.

While an ENIT representative office has been in operation in Beijing for seven years, the tourism body is set to open a second in Shanghai to beef up its promotional efforts.

Magnani said his board is also working closely with the Italian Embassy in China to facilitate Chinese tourists' visa applications.

Mariapia Garavaglia, deputy mayor of Rome, said an official map of Rome outlining the city's major tourist attractions and giving helpful tips in Chinese is being made available.

"We have to understand Chinese tourists' tastes in order to be a good host," Garavaglia, who is in charge of the city's tourism affairs, said.

Figures show that people from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou form the majority of Europe-bound tourists from the mainland. And they are the biggest spenders of all outbound Chinese travelers, splashing out an average of $5,253 each, according to figures from the Nielsen China Outbound Travel Monitor released earlier this month.

This is the third year that a European package tour has been officially made available to travelers. European tours have become big-ticket items for many affluent Chinese, who have long been familiar with Southeast Asian destinations and no longer find them exotic.

Zhang Xiaobin, general manager of Caissa Travel, one of the top agencies specializing in overseas tours, said registrations for European tours during the National Day holiday last month were up 30 percent on the same period last year.

(China Daily November 28, 2007)