The China Tourism Investment Fair ended Friday in Ningbo, a port city of east China's Zhejiang Province, with 16 billion yuan (about US$2 billion) worth contracts having been signed.

An official with the organizing committee said that 88 contracts were inked at the fair.

The fair, jointly sponsored by the China National Tourism Administration and the Ningbo municipal government, attracted 10,000 participants. More than 1,000 booths presented tourism investment promotion programs.

Gu Chaoxi, deputy director of the China National Tourism Administration, said more money will be injected into the development of China's abundant tourism resources so as to make the country more attractive to tourists.

According to an analysis issued by the China National Tourism Administration, investment in China's tourism will reach 1.9 trillion yuan (US$237.5 billion) by 2010, rising to six trillion yuan (US$750 billion) by 2020.

(Xinhua News Agency November 4, 2005)