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It seems the appellation of "an important economic powerhouse" is still not enough for Shanghai,as the city has recently unveiled its ambitious plan to become a world-class tourist city.

According to the plan, revealed at a municipal tourism meeting,the city will adopt a series of measures to accelerate the development of its tourism industry.

The city will seek to tap the potential of "metropolitan tourism" and become an international destination for business, shopping, conferences, exhibitions, culture, sports, sightseeing and recreational activities.

Zhou Muyao, vice mayor of Shanghai, said at the meeting that in line with China's commitments to the WTO, Shanghai would push the establishment of one or two Sino-foreign joint ventures or solely foreign-funded travel agencies in the city this year.

Zhou said that Shanghai also welcomes foreign investment in developing local tourism resources, improving tourism infrastructure and the tourism environment.

Shanghai received 2.04 million overseas tourists and 82.54 million domestic tourists in 2001, with tourism earnings exceeding 100 billion yuan (12.05 billion U.S. dollars).

The city expects a five percent rise in overseas tourist arrivals and domestic tourist arrivals alike this year.