The 12th Strait Travel Fair that took place in the city of Xiamen, Fujian province, May 4-8, marked another success in the tourism industry.
Covering a 33,000-square-meter space with more than 1,500 booths, the fair attracted 3,000 business persons to take part, creating a great opportunity for the industry to come together and share the newest development ideas.
Chen Yihui, deputy director of the Fujian tourism bureau, explained the fair's uniqueness with its close attention to market changes and to cross-Straits exchanges. And it did indeed bring in more than 100,000 visitors and a total of 1 million yuan in sales for local exhibitors.
For example, one hot spring company sold more than 150,000 yuan ($23,034) worth of products over a 3-day period, while the Xiamen booth, organized by the city's tourism bureau, counted 60,000 visitors, and earned three awards from the fair's organizer for best organizer, best exhibition booth and innovative sales.
One big item, VR (Virtual Reality), became the 'it' word at the fair as many tourism companies and mobile service providers used the new technology to improve the product experience and interaction. When asked what he thought about these innovations, Chen said that it could increase people's desire to travel, as people can learn more about destinations they would like to visit using VR devices.
Visitors also benefited from ticket and product discounts at the event; XiaMen Chunhui International Travel Service Co and C&D International Travel Service Co, a subsidiary of the Xiamen C&D Corp, launched some cruise products, as well as XM Air Travel, a subsidiary of Xiamen Air, which introduced new overseas tours.
China announced and implemented on May 15 a policy allowing visa-free entry of foreign tourist groups aboard cruise ships via all cruise ship ports along the country's coastline.
China and Georgia are set to waive visa requirements for travelers starting May 28.
