The largest Chinese group of tourists ever arrived in Europe gathered in the city of Bergamo near Milan on Friday, providing a platform for intercultural exchange.

A total number of 2,800 sales managers of Perfect (China) Co. Ltd., the second largest direct sales company in the Chinese mainland and 10th worldwide, met in Italy for an employee incentive tour.

The aim of the journey was to make the group encounter with Italian excellences from artistic treasures to renowned design, said president of the Guangdong-based company Woo Swee Lian during a meeting with local journalists.

"What I personally admire of Italians is creativity," he said, adding the trip was a precious occasion for enhancing intercultural exchange.

But it was also an opportunity to reaffirm the importance of "integrity" and "positive attitude" in life as well as at work, which are the starting point for building a "bright future", he said.

For this reason, Woo added, part of the trip was also dedicated to cultural training of the company's workers by going back to roots of virtues and values in Chinese history.

"I consider myself very lucky to take part in the trip, as it provides a rare chance both to learn new things and visit a beautiful country," said a man of the group, Chen Aimin.

"I cannot wait to tell my 12-year-old son about this experience," he told Xinhua, adding that Italy's capital of fashion and design Milan was exactly the same charming as he imagined.

After spending a few days in Milan, the group will move to Savona in the northern region of Liguria, to leave on a four-day cruise across the Mediterranean Sea.

During a gala dinner in Bergamo, a renowned old town near Milan, Bergamo's mayor Franco Tentorio expressed his personal welcome to the group, wishing the trip to be the first step of a long-lasting friendship.

"Bergamo is an industrial, commercial and tourist city in big growth, where work and hospitality are very important values," Tentorio said.

"I am sure you will love our town, and if it is so, I hope you will come back for important working and tourist opportunities," he told the group.

Also attending the event, Cesare Romiti, president of the Milan-based Italy-China Foundation, stressed the importance of this journey to promote Chinese tourism in Italy.

Romiti said the Italy-China Foundation considers the promotion of Chinese tourism and its development in Italy as a "fundamental activity."

"Accommodating more tourism in Italy is crucial for our country, especially in a time of global crisis like the one we are experiencing," Romiti said.

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