The China World Expo Tourism Year 2010 was launched on Thursday at the Hilton Hotel in Vienna, the capital of Austria.

About 230 representatives of Austria's political, economic, transport, tourism and cultural circles, including two members of the National Assembly and the president of the Austrian Tourism Association, as well as Chinese Ambassador to Austria Wu Ken, attended the activity.

The event, titled "World Expo Tourism Night," was organized by the China National Tourism Administration for the purpose of promoting the Shanghai World Expo and the Chinese tourism, and attracting more overseas visitors to Shanghai and China to experience the changes in the country.

Known as the "Olympics of economy, technology and culture," the World Expo will be held in Shanghai from May 1 to Oct. 31. The Shanghai Expo is another major event after the Beijing Olympics held in 2008.

It is expected to have 70 million domestic and overseas visitors, among whom foreign tourists could amount to 3.5 million.