New Delhi (PTI): In a bid to attract more Chinese tourists, India is set to launch an aggressive campaign in the neighbouring country to showcase its historical and cultural sites.

An Indian tourism office will come up in Beijing on Monday. A cultural programme will be organised at Hotel Beijing in the evening. Roadshows and distribution of literature in Chinese language on the tourism potential in India will also be conducted.

The office will be inaugurated by Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni.

"It was long overdue and finally it is going to happen," a senior official in the Tourism Ministry told PTI.

The mandate of the office will be to tap the Chinese tourists.

Last year, about 80,000 Chinese tourists visited India and the government here feels there is potential for raising this number.

The number of Chinese tourists to India witnessed a growth of 38 per cent during 2006 over 2005 and there is tremendous potential for further increase in tourists traffic from there, the official said.

"The Indian tourism ministry will organise roadshows in various cities of China to showcase our historical and cultural sites," the official said.

To reach out to maximum number of Chinese, tourism-related literature is being translated into their own language. Some of Indian tourist guides are also being trained in Chinese language, the official said, adding the number of the guides would be increased gradually.