Silk Road Intl Tourism Expo wraps up

The 2026 Xi'an Silk Road International Tourism Expo attracted 120,300 visitors from April 17 to 19. Some 19 countries and regions, as well as 796 cultural and tourism enterprises, participated in the event, with total transaction volume reaching 31.91 million yuan ($4.67 million).

The expo delivered outstanding results in terms of the in-depth integration of culture and tourism, as well as practical international cooperation.

The expo focused on creating new scenarios for the integration of culture and tourism, bringing together technological experiences, cultural consumption, and public-benefit offers, with various scenic spots, hotels, and cultural tourism merchants launching favorable measures that brought substantial benefits to both residents and tourists.

As the expo's guest of honor this year and participating for the first time, Ethiopia attracted many young visitors to experience its traditional coffee ceremony at its booth.

A representative of the Embassy of Ethiopia in China, said the East African nation has introduced e-visa facilitation measures for Chinese tourists, shortening the approval time to between 24 and 48 hours.

"China is the fourth-largest importer of our coffee, and we hope to expand more partnerships through the expo," he said.

Meanwhile, 250,000 tourists from China visited Croatia in 2025, including 160,000 from the mainland. A representative from the Croatian National Tourist Board, who has participated in expo for six consecutive years, said, "Through this platform we have established in-depth cooperation with enterprises such as China Comfort Xi'an International Travel Agency Co and Shaanxi China Travel Service Co, consolidating existing partnerships while expanding new ones."

The digital matchmaking system launched at the expo ensured practical transactions throughout the event. By the closing ceremony, the system had attracted 203 enterprises, generated 146 intended cooperation matches, and facilitated the launch of 41 projects.

A representative of travel agency HopeGoo said, "Intelligent matchmaking has significantly improved docking efficiency and greatly reduced communication costs."

The expo also demonstrated Xi'an's transformation from the starting point of the old Silk Road to an international tourist destination. With an open and innovative attitude, Xi'an is striding forward in the high-quality development of culture and tourism in the new era.