The 18th North China Travel Fair, which ended yesterday in the city of Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei province, received 200,000 visitors and saw 9100 tourism agreement signed, with the city itself getting 36 tourism programs worth around 8.65 billion yuan ($1.414 billion).

The deputy mayor of Shijiazhuang, Meng Xianghong, announced that this year's three-day fair attracted more spectators than ever before, with more than 1,000 tourist companies and travel agencies taking part. There were travel agencies from all of China’s provinces and regions, as well as the United States, Russia, South Korea and 17 other countries, and 26,000 representatives fairing all.

Meng explained that this year's event had 168 standard booths and exhibits inside and out and an eye-catching array of special tourism products and equipment. Naturally, some emerging tourism products, such as a helicopter, yacht, RV, and log cabin got a lot of stares.

The organizers report that, from Aug 30 to Sept 1, more than 200,000 people visited this year's fair has and that it reached its goal business goal especially with the cooperation agreements.

And, not only did the representatives and visitors just take part in the fair, they also visited tourist areas and scenic spots nearby and provided many opportunities for transportation, catering, and logistics development. Not to mention the fact that they spent 38 million yuan on accommodation, dining, and shopping, meaning a major contribution to tourism industry development.