China's Hunan Province seeks more Tanzanian tourists

　　China's Hunan Province held a cultural and tourism conference in Tanzania's commercial capital Dar es Salaam. (Xinhua)

　　China's southern Hunan Province seeks to attract more Tanzanians to visit the province for sightseeing, leisure and vacation purposes, as tourism is an area that can further boost the two countries' cooperation.

　　DAR ES SALAAM, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's southern Hunan Province has held a cultural and tourism conference in Tanzania's commercial capital Dar es Salaam aimed at attracting Tanzanians to visit the province.

　　The conference themed Splendid Hunan Culture and Tourism Promotion Conference was attended late Saturday by Tanzanian stakeholders in the tourism industry, including state-run Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB).

　　Guo Guquan, Deputy Director of Hunan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism gave a speech at the event. (Xinhua)

　　Speaking at the conference, Guo Guquan, the Deputy Director of Hunan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, invited Tanzanians to visit Hunan located in south-central China to explore its beautiful natural scenery and profound cultural heritage.

　　"With the rapid development of transportation, Hunan and Tanzania are not far away. This year, the first regular non-stop flight route between Hunan's provincial capital Changsha and Kenyan capital Nairobi was opened on June 12," said Guo.

　　"We hope that through this promotion event, more Tanzanian people get to know Hunan, travel to Hunan for sightseeing, leisure and vacation," said Guo.

　　Wang Siping, Cultural Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Tanzania, introduced Hunan's tourism resources to the audience and welcomed Tanzanian tourists to visit China.

　　Chairman of Tanzania Tourist Board Thomas Mihayo gave a speech at the event. (Xinhua)

　　Thomas Mihayo, the TTB Chairman, urged Tanzanian tourists to visit China as saying: "China is a peaceful country. Visits to Hunan by Tanzanian tourists will open a new chapter towards cementing the prevailing cooperation between China and Tanzania," said Mihayo.■