The Syrian Ministry of Tourism has launched a tourism marketing campaign by using public transport buses in the Chinese city of Shanghai, the Syrian governmental daily al-Baath reported on Wednesday.

The campaign, which comes with Shanghai World Expo 2010 and will last for six months, depends on making advertisements on the buses which drive around Shanghai city with the most attractive Syrian tourism sites.

The Syrian Director of the Tourism Marketing Ahamad al-Yosef said that China was one of the promising markets which occupied an important world economic and tourism position.

Al-Yosef indicated that the ministry's decision depended on a study of the Chinese market through indicators and surveys set by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) and other sources, the report said.

Mohammad Hammoud, the Chief of Syrian International Fairs and Exhibitions, told Xinhua in an Exclusive interview last month that he viewed Shanghai Expo 2010 as a great occasion to promote the Syrian culture, history and tourism.

The Syrian Minister of Tourism Saadallah Agha al-Qalla stated earlier this month that the growth of Syrian tourism reflects positively on Syria's ranking in the WTO list.

A report published recently by the Syrian Ministry of Tourism said that the tourism income in Syria consists 11 percent of the GDP in recent years, providing 13 percent of employment, and the report estimates that 10 million expected tourists will visit Syria in 2014.