SHANGHAI - A comprehensive tourism expo, Tourism Plus Shanghai 2021, opened here on Monday.

Covering an area of 600,000 square meters and open from March 29 to April 3, the expo includes four exhibitions, nearly 100 forums and summits, and 29 competitions and award events.

More than 5,000 exhibitors and 400,000 visitors are expected to participate in the event.

Fang Shizhong, head of the city's administration of culture and tourism, said at the expo's opening ceremony that Shanghai will launch a plan to boost its tourism industry by creating a number of world-class tourist resorts and high-quality tourist destinations.

Shanghai will also accelerate its digital transformation and improve the service level of its culture and tourism industry to build itself into a world-famous tourist city, Fang added.