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Nearly 10,000 agreements were signed during the China International Travel Mart 2004, which wrapped up yesterday in Shanghai.

About 45,000 people visited the four-day fair, including 17,000 industry insiders. Some 2,900 exhibitors from 64 countries and regions participated into the fair, and 1,050 exhibitors from abroad set up 652 booths.

This year's event set new records for the number and percentage of overseas exhibitors, said Shen Huirong, an official with the China National Tourism Administration.

"We come here since we've traced the huge market potential, as China is going to be one of the most important and largest tourism markets in the world,"

said E K Bharath Bhushan, principal secretary of Kerala Tourism of India.

He said though currently less than 1,000 Chinese travel to the southwest Indian state each year, he believes the number will increase with the development of China's outbound tourism.

"Gradually, Chinese tourists will begin to look for places that offer truly exotic flavors, and not only to see it, but to experience it."

The fair also attracted several thousand foreign buyers from 48 countries and regions, Shen added.

The citm, the largest international tourism fair in Asia, has been held five times since 1998.

Besides travel companies, hotels, tourism boards and scenic site operators, this year's event also attracted airlines, cruise companies, exhibition organizers and international tourism organizations.

The organizing committee said next year's CITM will be held in Kunming, Yunnan Province.