Tourism officials from the Chinese beach resort of Sanya have held a promotional event in Indonesia, with the aim of attracting more visitors from Southeast Asia’s largest country.

The “2017 Sanya Celebration” was held in Jakarta and featured two parts: an industry roadshow and a promotional meeting, which attracted almost 150 industry personnel and journalists, and an exhibition area which promoted Sanya through photo galleries, virtual reality games, food displays and cultural performances.

The event forms part of the local government’s efforts to enhance Sanya’s popularity among international travellers. The city welcomed 4.95 million visitors in the first quarter of 2017, but only 157,000 – about 3% – of these were non-Chinese.

“Sanya aims to become a top tourism destination with its natural beauty and varied culturally themed projects,” said Deng Zhong, president of the Sanya People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. “We hope to attract more overseas visitors to travel, work and live in the city, and more investors to explore new investment opportunities as well.”

Indonesia has been identified as a target by Sanya due to its large population and strong air connectivity with China. Indonesia’s Sriwijaya Air recently launched a new route connecting Jakarta with Haikou, the capital Hainan province, which lies 218km from Sanya.

In addition to the Indonesian promotion, the Sanya Celebration events will be held in Thailand, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Russia, the UK, Germany, Singapore and India.