With around 500 exhibitors from 50 countries and territories, the largest ever International Travel Expo in Hong Kong will open between June 9 an 12, an executive of TKS Exhibition Services Ltd said Tuesday.

The timing of the Expo is most convenient for those who are planning or arranging for their vacations in the coming summer as large amount and great variety of travel information can be collected efficiently in one visit, Managing Director of TKS Exhibition Service Ltd, K S Tong, said at a press briefing.

There are some pavilions or official participation by tourism boards, with 40 percent of them from Asia, 20 percent from Africa and Middle East, 20 percent from Europe and 20 percent from America and the Oceania, Tong said. For the first time, the Expo will feature Latin American pavilion.

Tong noted that there is a growing trend of independent participation by provincial and municipal tourism boards such as those by a region of Russia bordering the Black Sea, Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam and the Niagara Park Commission.

The Expo will also be packed with activities such as cultural performances arranged mainly by overseas tourism boards, new routings and product presentations such as Wine and Dine in European countryside, safari and eco-tours in Africa, snow adventures in the Arctic, heritage and cultural tours through Latin America, Tong said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 1, 2005)