Spain, France and Italy, Europe's top three tourist destinations, joined forces Monday to attract visitors from fast-growing Brazil, China and India under a joint "European Passion" logo.

"The goal is to improve the positioning of the nations of the Mediterranean Arc in distant markets where promoting Spain, France or Italy on their own is more complicated," Spain's tourism ministry said in a statement.

Under the agreement signed in Brussels, the three nations will jointly produce fliers and other promotional material for the three emerging markets that highlight their cultural attractions, food and shopping opportunities.

They will also organise promotional visits for journalists and tour operators from Brazil, China and India beginning later this year to boost awareness of their attractions in these countries.

Spain, France and Italy were the most visited countries in Europe last year, according to the United Nation's World Tourism Organisation.

France was in top spot, with 74.2 million arrivals, Spain was third with 52.2 million arrivals and Italy was fifth, with 43.2 million visitors.

Brazil, China, India and Russia, the so-called BRIC countries, are the world's top four emerging markets.

The four nations, which represent 40 percent of the world population, accounted for about half of global growth between 2000 and 2008 and will account for 61 percent global gross domestic product growth in 2014, according to the International Monetary Fund.