Portuguese-Speaking Countries Tried to Attract Chinese Tourists at Beijing Fair

Brazil, Cape Verde and East Timor were the only Portuguese-speaking countries taking part in the Beijing International Tourist Exposition, the event’s organizers said last week, with the three countries trying to lure the Chinese tourist market.

The Beijing International Tourist Exposition (BITE) was on in the Chinese capital from June 21 to 23 and brought together some 800 exhibitors from as many as 80 countries, including Chinese and international tour operators and destinations.

According to the event’s organizers, BITE 2007 was attended by 20,000 people, which led Brazil, Cape Verde and East Timor to take advantage of the fair to attract Chinese tourists.

China, which has a population of 1.3 billion people, is an increasingly attractive market for attracting tourists, as the number of Chinese traveling outside the country is continuously on the rise, due to the country’s economic growth and its policies of reform and opening up to the outside.

In 2006 consolidated its position of the largest source market for tourists in the whole of Asia, with 34.52 million Chinese taking foreign trips, 11.27 percent more than in 2005.