Tianjin Expo Seeks to Broaden Tourism Appeal Beyond Urban Hot Spots

A report from China Daily Sept. 4th, 2026：

Tianjin is looking beyond its familiar skyline and historic architecture to wetlands, rural experiences and traditional craftsmanship as the northern port city seeks to attract more international visitors.

The effort is on display at the 2026 China Culture and Tourism Industries Expo, which opened in Tianjin on Thursday, bringing together 2,540 enterprises from 20 countries and regions including Ethiopia, Vietnam and Cote d'Ivoire.

Nearly 100 overseas travel agencies and international tourism professionals were invited to the four-day event, which features a section dedicated to international cultural and tourism cooperation, according to Zhou Hanping, a senior official with the Department of Industrial Development of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Among the overseas participants is Cote d'Ivoire, which is making its debut at the expo and using the event to promote the West African country to Chinese travelers.

"We recorded around 5,000 more Chinese tourists arriving in our country last year. We hope to welcome even more Chinese travelers and invite Chinese investors to take part in our tourism sector development," said Frederique Ada-Kouassi, director of the tourism and leisure office at the Embassy of Cote d'Ivoire in China.