(AGI) Rome, Apr 13 - The China Tourism Academy has formallyrecognised that Trenitalia rail services have now been"customised" for Chinese travellers and are welcoming andattentive to the needs of Chinese tourists travelling throughItaly. During the 2015 edition of China Outbound Travel &Tourism Market (COTTM) on Monday in Beijing, Gruppo Ferroviedello Stato Italiane (Italian State Railways) was presentedwith the official Welcome Chinese Certification. "Thecertification, which guarantees to Chinese passengers thatTrenitalia services will offer them a travel experience thatmeets their expectations, making them feel at home, wasreleased after a rigorous examination conducted by the ChinaTourism Academy along with Select Holding, a tourism marketingpromoter company, in a world exclusive of this project," astatement explained. "The displays on board Frecciarossa andFrecciargento trains now give welcome messages and traveldirections in Chinese along with Italian and English. The menuon board Frecciarossa trains provides traditional Chinesedishes on request." The Trenitalia.com website has activatedits own version in Chinese that, in the first 15 days hasalready recorded over 20,000 hits. Assistance points and ticketoffices at the main stations of the high speed network willalso have information material available in Mandarin Chinese.Finally, in the second half of 2015 customers will be able tomake purchases from the Trenitalia network using a China UnionPay credit card. "The attainment of this importantrecognition," said Director of the Trenitalia Long HaulPassenger Division, Gianfranco Battisti, "represents asignificant step forward in our process of commercial expansionabroad, especially in a strategic and strongly growing marketlike the Chinese one. A market to which we look with greatinterest and whose potential will become even more apparent dueto the liberalisation of visa regulations for individualtravellers. Trenitalia intends to fully grasp this potentialand reaffirm its position as a major player in the developmentof Italian tourism, also in conjunction with Milan Expo 2015."According to the President of Select Holding, Jacopo Sertoli:"Trenitalia, through the Welcome Chinese Certification, willhave official recognition at the government level in theChinese market," adding: "This recognition is key to itsdevelopment plan in a country like China. More than 110 millionChinese tourists are expected to travel abroad in 2015, of whom1.7 million will be in Italy." (AGI).