For over 200 visiting Chinese entrepreneurs in Nadi of Fiji, the trip here is far more from a tour to a beautiful Pacific island country. It is a rather " fruitful trip" which has brought them many important business opportunities.

Zheng Hong, president of GZL International Travel Service Ltd, said in an interview with Xinhua on Thursday that experiencing the unique beauty of the quiet island country and suitable environment for holiday tours, he has decided to open the China-Fiji route immediately after he is back to Guangzhou.

Zheng attended the two-day First Ministerial Meeting of the China-Pacific Island Countries Economic Development and Corporation Forum that just ended Thursday.

Zheng said Guangzhou has a demand for market of the holiday tour while most of Chinese people would rather choose "visiting tours."

He said during the holidays such as the seven-day "golden week, " the quotas to the Indian Ocean country Maldives could not meet the needs of Guangdong citizens.

He said though the price of the suggested Guangzhou-Australia- Fiji route or the Guangzhou-New Zealand-Fiji trip may be higher than a European trip, Fiji is an entirely new market for the well- off Chinese people.

Zheng believed that the enhancing of economic cooperation and exchanges will also bring more business opportunities to his agency.

He said he had talked with Fiji travel agencies on cooperation affairs during the Forum meeting.

Chen Aiguo, general manager of Shanghai China International Travel Service Ltd, told Xinhua his company has also been engaged in the opening of Fiji tour.

Over 30 heads of big travel agencies from China attended the forum meetings.

Fiji, with a territorial space of 18,000 square kilometers, has listed tourism as its number one foreign currency earner. The country received over 510,000 tourists last year.

China listed Fiji as its tourism destination country in 2005.

Guan Minghua, general manager of Suzhou Youth Travel Service, said in an interview with Xinhua that his company has decided to build a 600-room five star hotel in a coastal place between Nadi and the Fiji capital of Suva.

He said timely seeking opportunities is very important for all enterprises. As a step of the strategic development, his company has established a travel agency in New Zealand and plans to open a branch in Australia this year.

Guan said both the Chinese and Fiji governments encourage Chinese investment in Fiji and that the building of the hotel will enjoy many Fiji preferential policies in tax and raw material import.

Having visited Fiji for five times, Guan has full confidence in building a new hotel. He said though for some years at the beginning, the majority of visitors to the hotel would be tourists from Australia and New Zealand, the Chinese market has such a great potential that some people would ignore.

Fu Shula, president of China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation, said his company has benefited a lot from the win-win situation in cooperation with the company's Fiji partner.

The Chinese company just signed an agreement with Air Fiji to provide three Yun-Seven type-4 civilian airplanes for Air Fiji for leasing on Wednesday.

The Chinese company has delivered not long ago two other small aircraft to Air Fiji.

Fu said the China-made small aircraft is relatively good in term of characteristics and price. The aircraft excels itself with safety and easy maintenance.

He said Fiji said it has been satisfied with the using of China- made aircraft.

Though not every entrepreneur found his suitable foreign partnership, some general managers from the non-governement enterprises have made friends during the long journey and two-day forum meeting and learned a lot from the Pacific island countries.

According to a spokesman from the Ministry of Commerce, over 50 items of tangible results have been achieved during the Forum meeting.

The two-day First Ministerial Meeting of the China-Pacific Island Countries Economic Development and Cooperation closed on Thursday.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, along with some heads of state or government of island countries, attended the opening ceremony on Wednesday.

Source: Xinhua