Government officials and businesses from Japan are taking part in a travel fair in Shanghai to attract more Chinese tourists.

The China International Travel Mart, one of the largest travel events in the country, started on Friday. Government agencies and businesses from more than 80 countries and regions are taking part.

Participants from Japan include municipalities and theme-park operators.

At a booth to promote the Tohoku region in northeastern Japan, visitors received postcards featuring popular tourist spots. At another booth for the northern prefecture of Hokkaido, officials held meetings with Chinese companies to discuss attracting golf enthusiasts and other topics.

The Japan National Tourism Organization says the number of Chinese visitors to Japan between January and October this year was about 70 percent of the same period in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.

It adds the number of individual travelers from China to Japan surpassed the pre-pandemic level, but the number of group tourists remains at less than 30 percent of the figure in 2019.

The head of the organization at Shanghai, Yakumaru Hiroshi, says that Chinese visitors to Japan tend to spend a lot of money and they are becoming familiar with the country.

He expressed his hope to promote Japan's regional charms to build a strong base of loyal fans.