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BEIJING, Feb. 2 -- The city is aiming to welcome 5.5 million overseas tourists by 2010, an increase of more than 10 percent from last year, a city vice mayor said yesterday.

Vice Mayor Tang Dengjie said about 500 international exhibitions, as well as 1,000 international conferences, were expected to be hosted locally in 2010."We'll seize the great opportunity offered by the World Expo 2010 and try to further improve Shanghai's image by introducing the city to more people around the world," he said.Yao Mingbao, Shanghai Tourism Administrative Commission director, said the city will launch campaigns promoting the event at this year's World Expo in Aichi, Japan, from March to September.In addition, Shanghai Tourism Week promotions will be held in Milan, Osaka, and Busan this year.

A tourist center will also be set up in Hamburg, Germany, to attract more Europeans to travel to the city, he added.

The city expected 4 million overseas tourists to stay for at least one night this year, 4 percent more than last year, according to Yao. The number of domestic tourists is also forecast to rise by 5 percent to 90 million.Total income from tourism is forecast to hit US$19 billion this year, with the added value of tourism accounting for 6.8 percent of the city's total GDP.Last year, about 4.9 million overseas tourists visited the city, an increase of about 58 percent from 2003.

The income from tourism was 147 billion yuan (US$18 billion) in 2004, of which tourism revenues in foreign currencies hit US$3.1 billion.To further attract visitors, the city will promote historic sites linked to the Communist Party of China.

Among the scenic spots will be 40 memorials, former residences of celebrities, martyrs' cemeteries and relics.