China's Tourism Industry Expo 2014 was held in the Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on Sept 19.

Visitors get a closer look at a recreational vehicle and its facilities on China's Tourism Industry Expo 2014 in Tianjin. [Photos for China Daily]

The expo was sponsored by the National Tourism Administration and Tianjin municipal people's government, supported by the UN World Tourism Organization, and organized by the China Tourism Association and Tianjin municipal tourism bureau.

The expo attracted nearly 1,000 institutions and enterprises from Beijing; Hebei; Shandong; and 25 other provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions – as well as the United States, Russia, France, and 14 other countries and regions. The event will end on September 22, 2014.

According to the exhibition content, the expo area was divided into six sectors, including motor homes and tourist outdoor equipment, cruise ships and yachts, general aviation, wisdom tourism, hotel supplies, and hotel and tourism commodity. It also featured excellent works for the 19th North China Tourism Trade Fair and the Countryside and Regional Tourism and Commodity Competition. Among them, inside the N2 Exhibition Hall, motor homes and tourist outdoor equipments were presented, from motor homes to beach buggies, all-terrain vehicles (ATV), sightseeing buses, tents, sleeping bags, mountaineering bags, alpenstocks, sports leisure clothing, skiing tools, and other outdoor facilities.

Inside the N4 Exhibition Hall for the wisdom tourism sector, electronic tourism information equipment, concept and facilities for wisdom tourist cities, achievements of construction of wisdom tourist cities and models, and simulated scene experiences were demonstrated.

Inside the N5 Exhibition Hall, domestic and foreign hotel supplies and hotel and tourism commodities were displayed, including hotel facilities and supplies, special tourism products, tourism souvenirs, tourism fashion products and outstanding works for the Tourist Souvenirs Competition.

Inside a recreational vehicle, or RV, on show during the 2014 China Tourism Industry Exposition in Tianjin. With soft furnishings and cooking facilities all onboard, many of the vehicles are literally mobile homes.

Inside the N6 Exhibition Hall, yachts and general airplanes were mainly exhibited, covering yachts, water facilities, civilian helicopters, fixed-wing aircrafts, seaplanes, diving and rafting supplies, and other large-scale amusement equipment.

During the exhibition, the organizers also held a number of themed activities, including the Wisdom Tourism Forum, Regional Tourism Cooperation Seminar, Seminar on Development of Motor Homes Camping Tourism, Tourism Session of the ninth East Asian Economic Exchanges Promotion Institutions, and the fourth Tianjin Municipal Tourism Commodity Competition.

Yachts on display during the 2014 China Tourism Industry Exposition in Tianjin.

As 2014 was titled by the National Tourism Administration as the "Wisdom Tourism Year," serial themed activities of "Wisdom Tourism" were held especially in the expo, including the Wisdom Tourism Theme Exhibition and International Wisdom Tourism Forum.

In the event, many pieces of high-tech experience equipment were adopted, such as multiple-screen and interactive touch devices, WeChat printers and 360 degree spherical screen projectors. The audience could feel the big changes in the traditional tourism models resulting from wisdom tourism science and technology.

Wisdom tourism can make travel simpler and quicker. For example, guests may decide where to go after leaving home for an immediate trip, buy sightseeing tickets by mobile payment, and then enter the scenic area by directly scanning the phone at the entrance. When a guest feels thirsty during sightseeing, they can touch an automatic vending machine using their mobile phone and get a drink. When tourists are back home, they can appreciate all the printed photos taken along the journey. All this can be experienced within the expo site.

After experiencing the Wisdom Tourism Exhibition Hall with his son and daughter, Mr Zhang said: "With wisdom tourism, travel becomes very simple. I am required to have frequent business travels at work. I booked my air tickets by phone each time this year, and I felt very convenient. But today’s exhibition really opened my eyes. There are many pieces of high-tech equipment we have never seen before, and my children were especially interested in the WeChat printers. They are very interesting."

The expo was not as simple as the previous expos. Many exhibitors directly moved their own sales counters to the Exhibition Hall so tourist route products, scenic tickets, tourism souvenirs, hotel coupons, and a large number of high-quality and low-price tourism products could be sold to the visitors during the event.