TIANJIN, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- China Tourism Industries Exposition opened Friday in north China's Tianjin Municipality, attracting over 700 exhibitors.

Co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Tianjin municipal government, and supported by World Tourism Organization, the expo is themed as "A festival of tourism industries, a platform for win-win cooperation". The event is expected to attract 300,000 visitors.

The three-day expo, with an exhibition area of 50,000 square meters, displays tourism products from different provinces and cities in China as well as Belt and Road countries. Cruises, yachts, recreational vehicles and camping facilities, hotel and travel agency products and innovation projects and products are also on display.

Seminars centering on the camping industry, innovation and big data and tourism will also be held at the expo.

Wei Xiao'an, chief expert with World Tourism Cities Federation Expert Committee, said that tourism, a traditional service sector, must attach great importance to innovation as artificial intelligence (AI), big data and cloud computing are defining the industry. Products, management mode and technologies involved need to be changed to tackle new challenges.

According to a report released by the China Tourism Academy last year, the number of China's domestic and inbound tourist trips exceeded 5.1 billion, with a total tourism revenue of more than 5.3 trillion yuan (763 billion U.S. dollars) in 2017. It is estimated that the total tourism revenue would exceed 6 trillion yuan in 2018.

First held in 1999, the China Tourism Industries Exposition has witnessed more than 1.77 million visitors from over 80 countries and regions and plays an important role in advancing China's tourism industry and promoting cooperation with Belt and Road countries in the industry.