The 4th Ningbo International Travel Expo concludes successfully

Customers take part in the 4th Ningbo International Travel Expo on Sept 1-4 in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/news.cnnb.com.cn]

The 4th Ningbo International Travel Expo ended on Sept 4 in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province.

Ningbo has seized the opportunity to develop tourism under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in recent years. This year's expo attracted an average of 125 people to visit  each booth, and sales increased to 78.6 million yuan ($12 million), an eightfold increase over the figures in 2014.

Foreign countries involved in the BRI took part in the expo, including India, Sri Lanka, Croatia and the Czech Republic. In the first half of this year, the number of foreign inbound visitors to Ningbo rose to 422,400, a 9.96 percent increase year-on-year.

"We used to travel around countries neighbouring China, such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore. Now tours covering Central and Eastern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa are more attractive," said Mr. Qian, who visited the expo with his wife and booked a tour to Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia for a holiday this winter.

"The tours to Central and Eastern Europe are popular among Ningbo consumers for their beautiful ecological environments and various leisure facilities," said an official of the China International Travel Service.