Taipei, Sept. 5 (CNA) A Taipei County group led by Tourism Bureau Director Chin Hui-chu left Friday for Xiamen to attend an international travel fair held next week in the port city in southern China's Fujian Province. 

   "We hope to directly promote the county's fine food, tourist destinations and facilities, and cultural festivals to the Chinese public and to step up bilateral tourism exchanges and cooperation, " Chin said prior to the group's departure. 

   According to Chin, Taipei County will try to woo Chinese visitors by showcasing its folk festivals, specialty products, and wedding photography industry at its pavilion at the fair to be held from Sept. 8-11. 

   Aside from Taiwan, public tourism promotion organizations and travel agencies from China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asian and western countries will also participate in the fair, jointly sponsored by China's National Tourism Administration and the Fujian provincial government. 

   Chin recently returned from Jinan, the provincial capital of Shandong province in northern China, where she also attended a world travel fair at the head of a delegation composed of county government officials and business representatives. 

   In line with two landmark pacts signed by Taiwan and China in mid-June in Beijing, Taiwan agreed to permit up to 3,000 Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan per day and to establish direct weekend charter flights between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait from July 18. 

   But the numbers of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan since then have remained low, which has compelled many of Taiwan's local authorities to further promote their localities in anticipation of larger numbers of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan following the conclusion of the Beijing Olympics. (By Flor Wang) enditem/ls