TIANJIN, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) — Recreational vehicle (RV) culture is catching on among drivers in China as the country is witnessing a booming tourism industry, industry insiders said.

Wang Kai, an exhibitor at the China Tourism Industries Exposition that opened Friday in Tianjin, said he has received many visitors during the three-day event, an indicator of people’s growing enthusiasm for RV.

According to the Chinese website campave.com, the number of RV in China was about 48,000 by the end of 2017, and 4,500 new RVs were sold that year alone, a year-on-year increase of 28 percent. This year, RV sales are estimated to grow at least 40 percent, and the RV rental market is also growing rapidly.

It is estimated that there are about 150 RV producers in China.

“The rapid expansion of the RV industry is driven by people’s upgrading of their consumption,” said Feng Biao, who works with a Tianjin-based RV sales company. “People are becoming wealthier and are more willing to spend on new products to improve their life qualities.”

Meanwhile, a growing RV market relies on more well-managed camping sites. Statistics show that the number of campsites in China has increased about 33 percent to exceed 1,200 in 2017.

China plans to complete building of 2,000 campsites for visits including RV tours by 2020, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

This story originally appeared in Xinhua.