A delegation of 20 travel agents from Singapore and Malaysia visited Hubei province at the invitation of the Hubei Provincial Tourism Bureau, hubeitour.gov.cn reported.

The visitors arrived for their six-day trip on Dec 13, and their hosts showed them the province’s most popular tourist destinations and attractions, such as En’shi ethnic customs, Wuhan and the Three Gorges. They also watched a performance of “Han Show”, which will be staged in December next year and showcases the culture of the Han people and of ancient and modern Hubei.

Qian Yuankun, director of the Hubei Provincial Tourism Bureau, gave a presentation about new travel routes for tourists to increase their understanding of the culture of the Three Kingdoms (AD 220-280) and also about Taoist culture.

Wang Peizhong, who is in charge of the central China business of Singapore’s Silk Air, a co-organizer of the event, said that the company will stay in contact with the travel agents, and will aim to offer discounted tickets in a bid to attract more tourists from Singapore and other Southeast Asia countries to take direct flights to Hubei.

The Singapore–Wuhan direct flight, which started operation in April 2012, greatly pushed forward the development of Hubei’s tourist market, with 68,100 tourists from Singapore and 57,400 from Malaysia arriving in the province during the first 10 months of the year.

Edited by Niva Whyman