Bahamas expects Chinese visitors, said Ellison Tommy Thompson, deputy director-general of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism.

In February this year, Bahamas gained the Approved Destination Status from the Chinese government, which allows Chinese group travelers to visit the Caribbean nation. Some Chinese travel agencies hoped to design routes after a real operation begins.

Thompson said the purpose of the visit included meeting with Chinese tourism officials and providing a name list of local travel agencies to host Chinese visitors.

In recent years, Chinese travelers have favored sea island trips, from southeast Asia to south Asia, from the South China Sea to Indian Ocean.

Thompson said now Chinese visitors can choose to fly via Europe or North America. China's rapidly growing outbound market will continue in the near future, so Bahamas tourism operators have started to research China's market and hope to design tailored tourism products for Chinese visitors. Some hotels have even tried to develop Chinese menus for Chinese travelers, added Thompson.

Lying in the Caribbean Sea, Bahamas is the world's famous holiday resort. Consisting of over 700 islands and 2,000 coral reefs, the island nation has 13,939 square kilometers. Thompson said the Bahamas just launched a website in the Chinese language in order to provide overall tourism consultation information.

(Xinhua News Agency December 1, 2005)