Cape Verde is one of three Portuguese-language countries participating in the Beijing International Tourism Expo, which begins June 21 and runs until June 23. The event, known by the acronym BITE 2007, will bring together more than 800 displayers from 80 countries. In addition to Cape Verde, the lusophone world will be represented by Brazil and East Timor.

According to estimates from BITE 2007’s organizers, some 20,000 visitors are expected at the event. China, with its 1.3 billion inhabitants, is an increasingly good market for attracting tourists, as the number of Chinese traveling outside their country is on the increase thanks to the country’s economic growth and growing openness to the rest of the world.

In 2006 China consolidated its position as the Asian country sending the most tourists abroad, with 34.52 million Chinese traveling as tourists, an 11.27% increase over 2005.

In 2020, China is expected to be the country of origin of some 100 million tourists, which would put it in the top position worldwide.

Source: A Semana