TORONTO, June 19 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese delegation seeking to boost tourism at China's Yangtze River has taken aim at several key cities in North America, including Canada's Toronto.
Thirty delegates, from the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), arrived in Toronto Wednesday on their last stop in North America. They also visited New York and Washington.
Urging the audience to explore "Magical Yangtze" through presentations that highlight the Three Gorges Dam, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and other places, the CNTA delegates hope to spotlight China's often overlooked treasures.
"We hope that more and more American and Canadian tourists can learn more about Chinese culture and how hard-working, smart and courageous Chinese people are," said CNTA director-general Zhu Mengming.
Zhu also expressed hope that through the people-to-people exchanges, the CNTA would advance friendly relationships between the peoples of North America and China.
Tourism between China and North America has increased over the past few years. China last year saw nearly 710,000 Canadian visitors, making Canada its 11th largest tourism market. Meanwhile, about 420,000 Chinese tourists visited Canada.
David Goldstein, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC), said he believes the Yangtze tour will appeal to many Canadians.
Goldstein also said that to make a real breakthrough in tourism between Canada and China, there's still lots of work to do.
"The problem is the further you go into the provinces, the less English is spoken, the less they're ready for western visitors. But in a sense, we have the same problem here," Goldstein said. "I think as both countries explore each other, both tourism communities are going to have to become more prepared to receive those guests."
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