An Italian delegation consisting of 27 local travel agents visited Shanxi province on May 12 and 13 at the invitation of China National tourist office in Rome.

The delegation toured several tourist attractions in the province, such as Wang's Family Compound, the ancient city of Pingyao and Shuanglin Temple, as well as viewing Another Glance at Pingyao, a show which depicts scenes from Pingyao's history.

After experiencing various tour routes and chatting with locals, the travel agents were impressed by Shanxi's unique tourism resources and tourist services, expressing their desire to bring more Italian visitors to Shanxi.

A sales manager at Italian Mistral Tour International claimed he would promote the scenery and historical sites that he experienced to clients and will organize more Italians to go sightseeing in Shanxi.

Mistral Tour International, with a history of 40 years, is so far the biggest tour operator bringing inbound tourists to China and one of top three travel agencies in Italy. The first Italian tour group was organized by Mistral.

"The tour investigation benefits cooperation between travel businesses in Italy and Shanxi and will thus further the tourism-driven economy of the two sides, advancing the development of the Silk Road Economic Belt," said Wang Gang, an official of Shanxi Provincial Tourism Development Commission.

"Shanxi will welcome Italian tourists with its abundant tourism resources and better services," he added.

Apart from Shanxi, Mistral has also organized agents to visit Beijing, Shanghai and Shaanxi province from May 8 to 17.