The 2018 China Tourism Industries Exposition will be kicking off in Tianjin, northern Chinese port city from November 9 to 11.
Aiming to establish the stage of cooperation in the tourism industry and achieve win-win outcomes, the Expo is expected to attract more than 700 companies worldwide and over 300,000 visitors.
Seven themed sections showcase tourism products of different categories, most notably the one involving countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, including Pakistan, Mongolia, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Poland, Iran and Thailand.
China has carried out the Belt and Road initiative since 2013, tourism exchanges have been increased dramatically thanks to the enhanced cooperation between China and countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.
"About 85 million trips are expected to be made from countries in the Belt and Road region to China from 2016 to 2020, spending about 110 billion US dollars,” said Li Jinzao, deputy Minister of China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, at the Belt and Road tourist city mayors' summit, which is part of the International Mayor's Forum on Tourism held in Zhengzhou City, central China's Henan Province in May, 2018.
Domestically, Beijing, Shanghai and other 33 provinces will be attending and showcasing their regional tourism projects. A total of 15 international countries and regions including French Reunion, Slovakia and Japan will also be participating in the expo and bring their unique tourism products.
Besides, this expo will hold several seminars on topics covering the innovative development of city tourism, and the Internet and big data, to seek more cooperation opportunities with other countries and regions. Other exhibitions involve cruise ships and camping facilities, as well as hotel facilities.
China Tourism Academy, a think tank under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism suggested that China's outbound tourism market is estimated to increase by five percent annually on average in the coming years, bringing the number of outbound tourists to 157 million in 2020.
