More than 2.3 million tourists visited the port city in the first 10 months of this year, an year-on-year increase of 34.68 per cent, according to the Shanghai Tourism Administration Commission.

Overseas visitors to the city accounted for 76.6 per cent of the total, an increase of 42 per cent over the same period last year, the statistics also showed.

Commission officials said at a press conference yesterday that the city will receive more than 2.6 million visitors this year. The local tourism industry, with an annual revenue of 95.6 billion yuan (US$11.6 billion) last year, has become one of the city's backbone industries, accounting for 5.5 per cent of the city's gross domestic product (GDP).

Shi Tiehua, chief publicity official with the commission, said that Shanghai aims to become an international tourism centre with its "classic urban culture" and "international commercial, exhibition and conference services."

Industry officials are also eagerly waiting to find out if Shanghai will host the 2010 World Expo. The World Expo is expected to attract 70 million visitors from home and abroad if Shanghai wins the bid, according to the 2010 Shanghai World Expo Bidding Committee.

Shanghai will also combine efforts with the neighbouring provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu to promote the overall tourism industry in East China's Yangtze River Delta, Shi added.

Such an overall tourism programme would cover urban and commercial cultural sites, as well as rural scenic spots and traditional folk custom locations in East China, Shi said.

To promote international tourism exchange, the Fourth China International Travel Mart also kicks off tomorrow in Shanghai.

Organized by the State Tourism Administration, the four-day tourism fair will attract tourism officials and relevant businesses from all provinces and municipalities across the country, as well as from 46 countries and regions worldwide.

(China Daily November 13, 2002)