Canada's tourism commission Destination Canada held a special promotion event on July 4 in Guangzhou with a local travel agency.

The event was attended by Rachael Bedlington, Canadian Consul-General in Guangzhou.

To celebrate their deep ties, the governments of Canada and China have officially named 2018 the Canada-China Year of Tourism. Moreover, to further boost its appeal to Chinese tourists, Canada has established 11 visa centers in China and there are about 100 flights a week between the two countries.

Rachael Bedlington delivers a speech at the promotion event in Guangzhou on July 4. [Photo/southcn.com]

According to Bedlington, nearly 700,000 Chinese tourists visited Canada last year. More and more malls in Canada have access to Alipay and WeChat payments to facilitate shopping by Chinese tourists.

In addition to the Canadian cities that are familiar to Chinese tourists such as Vancouver and Toronto, routes such as the Rocky Mountain train tour are also gaining popularity among Chinese tourists, said the consul-general.

She added that Canada will seize the opportunity of the Canada-China Year of Tourism and increase its tourism marketing efforts in China's major cities to attract more visitors.