SHANGHAI, March 28 (Xinhua) -- A comprehensive tourism expo, Tourism Plus Shanghai 2023, opened here on Tuesday.

Covering an area of 600,000 square meters, the expo includes six main exhibitions, over 90 forums and summits, and 22 competitions and award events.

About 5,000 exhibitors will participate in the expo.

The expo includes two stages, with the first one running from March 28 to 31 and the second from May 29 to June 1.

"The return of large-scale exhibitions makes us more confident about the development of the tourism economy," said Sun Jian, general manager of BTG Homeinns Hotels (Group) Co., Ltd., one of China's major hotel groups.

Sun said the occupancy rate of the hotels under the group in first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai increased by 30 percent year on year from January to February 2023.