The tourism sector is developing at a faster pace in Shanghai as it prepares to host the 2010 World Expo.

On August 12, the metropolis saw the birth of two foreign-invested travel agencies, which are believed to be the first of many overseas companies trying to enter the local tourist market.

The Britain-based Business Travel International (BTI) has set up its first joint venture in China with Shanghai Jinjiang International (Group) Ltd. Named BTI Jinjiang China, the US$6.8 million venture is Shanghai's first travel agency in which foreign investors have take a controlling stake as BTI holds a 51 percent share in the venture, which mainly targets the highly lucrative domestic business travel market.

The other newcomer is Star Cruises, the world's third-largest cruise line, which has established a wholly-owned travel agency - the first of its kind in Shanghai - with hopes to take the lion's share of China's emerging cruise ship business.

Shanghai Tourism Commission (STC) officials said the entry of foreign travel companies will help further stimulate the local tourism industry, which is regaining its momentum after last year's SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak, though analysts said that it would still take time before the industry fully recovers.

The commission estimates Shanghai is expected to receive 3.5 million tourists from abroad this year, with a projected revenue of US$2.6 billion.

In addition, Shanghai will host 95 million domestic tourists in 2004, according to the commission.

The inflow of overseas travel companies is merely one part of the local tourism industry's development.

A string of tourist infrastructure facilities will be put into use later this year, according to Yao Mingbao, director of STC.

The facilities include a tourist call center, which will provide the latest local tourist information.

And the center will enable those planning their trips to Shanghai to access information on a hotline number of 962020, and additional tickets or hotel booking services will also be available via the hotline.

Similarly, a city-level exchange center for qualified professionals in the tourism industry as well as a tourist souvenir exhibition center will be put into operation soon.

Meanwhile, Shanghai will see up to 50 tourist villages offering visitors an almost genuine taste of countryside life by 2010, and such villages are forecast to have a total capacity of up to 30,000 beds and the ability to host 6 million people annually.

"Such infrastructure is essential to the local tourism economy in the long run," said Yao.

The facilities will help create a multi-dimensional tourist market, analysts said.

However, Shanghai is not alone in boosting the tourism industry as the metropolis is working closely with the neighboring Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces to turn the area into a global tourist attraction.

A total of 16 cities in the Yangtze River Delta region signed a declaration to jointly promote tourism in the area, and tourism officials agreed that the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai will be a big opportunity for the industry.

Officials have vowed to improve links, cut costs and provide comprehensive tourist information for visitors from home and abroad.

Through a bimonthly joint conference mechanism, a number of projects have been embarked on, including tourist promotion activities targeting Japanese white-collar women workers and joint drafting of a comprehensive transport and tourist map of Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

(China Daily August 19, 2004)