Performers from more than 20 countries and regions danced, kicked, and sang their way down Qianmen Street on Sunday, marking the start of the 12th annual Beijing International Tourism Festival.

With more than 2,000 performers traveling to Beijing for the event, the start of the festival showcased a variety of cultural talent, ranging from South Korean martial arts to Australian line dancing.

"I was born in Beijing, but have been living in Australia," said Joe Zhou, chairman of the World Top Class Antique Car Parade. "It's great to come back to Beijing and see how much tourism has grown."

Zhou led the parade of performers by driving a vintage 1923 Rolls Royce through Qianmen as hundreds of Chinese spectators cheered the performers. Zhou's collection of 20 vintage cars will be displayed along the road at the Olympic zone for the length of the festival.

Sponsored by the Beijing Tourism Administration and the Beijing municipal government, this year's theme is "World City, Beautiful Beijing".

"Beijing has embarked on a new stage of development. To build itself up into a world city with Chinese characteristics is the strategic goal of this beautiful city," said Guo Jinlong, mayor of Beijing.

The festival aims to not only promote global tourism to Beijing residents, but also boost Beijing as a tourist destination.

Transforming Beijing into an international tourism hot spot is a long-term goal for the city, Guo said.

Beijing has been making a splash on the international tourism scene with more than 2.75 million international travelers visiting the capital between January and June this year, a 25 percent increase compared with the same period last year, according to a report released by the Beijing Statistics Bureau in August.

In 2009, Beijing's tourism sector generated more than 244.2 billion yuan, accounting for roughly 7 percent of the city's GDP.