The 11th Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo (MITE) opened here on Friday, drawing together tourism authorities and industry players from China and abroad to promote their respective tourist resources and offer attractive travel products.

Over 500 tourism institutions, travel agencies and enterprises from nearly 40 countries and regions took part in the exhibition which covered around 23,000 square meters in total.

Lei Wai Nong, secretary for economy and finance of the Macao Special Administrative Region government, said at the opening ceremony that the expo helps leverage Macao's unique advantages to build a new platform for "tourism+" cooperation, expand regional and international tourism cooperation, and facilitate more business opportunities.

Kong Lun, deputy director-general of the Bureau of International Exchanges and Cooperation of the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism, voiced his hope that the expo will help Macao better integrate into overall national development, and build a bridge for the mainland and Macao to jointly expand development space.

Organized by the Macao Government Tourism Office, the three-day expo is scheduled to host over 50 promotions, forums and other events.