Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region held a tourism promotion seminar in South Korea's coastal city Busan on March 26. More than 150 travel agencies and 20-odd local media attended the meeting.

Gang Hui Cheon, head of Busan's Municipal Sightseeing Department, said Ningxia is blessed with rich tourism resources. He hoped the seminar will beef up exchanges and cooperation between South Korea and Ningxia.

According to Liu Zhijiang, Director of the Chinese Tourism Office in Seoul, the promotion will help increase Ningxia's popularity in the South Korean tourism market and establish the autonomous region's tourism brand there.

It has been 20 years since China established diplomatic relations with South Korea. The year 2012 is also regarded as a year for Sino-South Korean tourism exchanges.

On March 24, Ningxia opened a direct flight between its capital Yinchuan and Seoul in a bid to develop its overseas tourism market.

Ningxia registered more than 2,000 tourists from South Korea in 2011. The number is expected to hit 10,000 this year due to the opening of the nonstop flight, a senior official with the regional tourism administration said.