Shenzhen will be able to accommodate the 20,000 participants and visitors expected to attend the International Cultural Industry Fair (ICIF) from Nov. 18 to 22.

Shenzhen tourism chief Chi Xiongbiao told a meeting of the ICIF organizing committee Friday that the local tourism industry would lend its full support to the fair. He said hotels and tourism agencies had the capability and experience to handle a large influx of visitors.

Chi said the city had more than 350 hotels, including 160 star hotels with more than 60,000 beds.

"There will be no problem for the expected 20,000 or more professional participants and visitors to find quality accommodation," Chi said.

The tourism chief also promised that room rates would not rise during the fair.

He suggested the ICIF organizer establish a tourism booth at the fair to help visitors interested in Shenzhen tourist attractions.

So far, the ICIF has attracted more than 800 potential exhibitors, including U.S. News Corp.'s AOL Time Warner, said the organizer.

The ICIF is being hosted jointly by the Cultural Industry Department of the Ministry of Culture, Administration of Radio, Film and TV of Guangdong Province, the Press and Publication Bureau of Guangdong Province and Shenzhen Municipal People's Government, with two sponsors, Shenzhen Television Station and Shenzhen Press Group, to share the cost of the event.

The fair, a State-level event, will be run biannually at the China Hi-Tech Fair Exhibition Center. Since the China Hi-Tech Fair, an annual event held in Shenzhen, has been heavily invested by the city government each year, the city government is regarding it as a trial for running State-level fairs without any investment from the government.

ICIF aims to bring together various cultural products from home and abroad, trading elements for cultural industry and cultural forums and also provide a platform for cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and the rest of the world.

The city government has been promoting the fair to domestic and overseas media, aiming to make it a significant step toward developing a cultural city while promoting the exhibition and convention economy.

Editor: Donald