Expo to boost cultural exchange and tourism consumption

The 2025 Xi'an Silk Road International Tourism Expo was held from April 18 to 20 at the Xi'an International Convention and Exhibition Center in Shaanxi province in Northwest China.

The event aimed to further promote cultural and tourism consumption and stimulate industrial vitality.

This year's expo attracted 187 delegations and 803 enterprises from 25 countries and regions, including Türkiye, Kazakhstan, Sweden, and Norway, as well as 18 domestic provinces, such as Beijing, Jilin, Guangdong and Sichuan. The diverse tourism projects and dazzling array of tourism products drew significant interest from both visitors and merchants.

Spanning 36,000 square meters, the expo featured three main theme exhibition halls — the exchange and cooperation hall, the industry integration hall, and consumer experience hall — with multiple exhibition areas highlighting  international exchange, cultural tourism integration, and "Tourism+" innovations, alongside tourism equipment and outdoor sports.

A standout feature of this year's event was the deep integration of technology and cultural tourism. The smart cultural and tourism solutions zone showcased advanced applications such as smart scenic area systems and cloud data platforms.

Türkiye, this year's guest of honor, led the Silk Road circle of friends with a distinctive exhibition area highlighting culture and ethnic customs.

In partnership with the World Tourism Alliance, the expo also held exchange activities to promote the integration of international cultural and tourism resources and build a cultural and tourism community along the Silk Road.

Since its establishment in 2014, the Xi'an Silk Road Tourism Expo has welcomed participants from more than 70 countries and regions, leading to 290 signed projects with a total contract value exceeding 196.7 billion yuan ($26.9 billion).

This year's edition further strengthened its commercial focus by creating a targeted matchmaking and trading platform, promoting a shift from "exhibition economy" to a broader "ecological economy".