Intl event expected to boost Guangdong tourism

The 2014 China (Guangdong) International Tourism Mart, which will take place in the provincial capital of Guangzhou at the end of this month, is expected to play an important role in promoting Sino-foreign cooperation in the tourism industry.

Wu Ken, deputy director-general of the Guangdong provincial government, said the event will focus on expanding tourism industrial cooperation among the countries and regions along the ancient Maritime Silk Road, as well as cooperation among the Pan-Pearl River Delta provinces and regions this year.

"The annual event, which has become China's largest tourism fair, will bring myriad opportunities for travel agencies and businesspeople from home and abroad," Wu told a news conference on Aug 21.

More than 30,000 professional buyers and 500,000 visitors from 50 nations and regions around the world are expected to attend the three-day event, which will begin on Aug 29. The event will be in exhibition halls covering more than 100,000 square meters in the Guangzhou Pazhou International Exhibition and Convention Center.

Special seminars, lectures, tourism presentations and cuisine fairs will be organized during the event to help boost Sino-foreign trade in the tourism industry and enhance Sino-foreign co-peration, Wu said.

The Guangdong provincial tourism authority said tourism has become a pillar industry in Guangdong, which borders the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

Guangdong earned 830.5 billion yuan ($135 billion) from tourism in 2013, up 12.4 percent year-on-year and representing 6.1 percent of the province's GDP. The province received more than 290 million tourists last year, up 8.5 percent year-on-year.

Guangdong has now become a major destination for tourists from home and abroad and a major tourist draw, the tourism authority said.