SHANGHAI EXPO SETS RECORDS, GENERATES LUCRATIVE ECONOMIC EFFECTS

BEIJING, Nov 2 (Bernama) -- The 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, which ended Sunday, has not only set several records but also generated lucrative economic effects for Shanghai and cities at the Yangtze Delta.

According to the Statistics Department of Shanghai Municipal, accomodation, food and beverage achieved the highest growth and retail sales saw an increase.

"Retail sales rose by 17.7 per cent in first three quarters to 395.58 billion renminbi.

"Sales of cars, oil products, electrical appliance and gold also recorded fast growth," it said.

Meanwhile, the National Business Daily said revenue from ticket sales amounted to 10 billion renminbi. (US$1=6.69 renminbi)

"According to China Tourism Research Institute, the expo has brought in a revenue of 80 billion renminbi," it said.

The 184-day expo broke world expo's records in terms of the number of participants, visitors and size of its site.

The expo, the first ever held in a developing country, attracted the participation of 246 countries and international organisations.

The 73 million visitors also surpassed the 64.21 million visitors set by the 1970 World Expo in Osaka, Japan.

The 5.2-sq km site attracted an average of 370,000 visitors daily. It set a record of 1.03 million visitors in a single day on Oct 16.