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Shanghai skyscraper city

Two visionary hotel concepts, Zendai Hotel Yin, a luxury, boutique-style ‘city retreat’ and Zendai Art Hotel, a 5-star business hotel, will open in the ‘Himalayas Centre’ which is due to open in Pudong in spring 2010, in time for the Shanghai World Expo.

Shnaghai International Expo

The Zendai Group has invested over RMB 2.4 billion in the Himalayas Centre which is located opposite to Shanghai’s New International Expo Centre and just 15 minutes from the city’s main financial district in Pudong. Metro line no. 7 is accessed directly from the basement of the Himalayas Centre and the high speed Maglev train, for 7-minute transfers and from Pudong airport, is just 10 minutes away.

Designed by one of the world’s leading architects, Arata Isozaki who is renowned for his work on the Barcelona Olympics Stadium and the Los Angeles Museum of Modern Art, the Himalayas Centre is being hailed by developers, the Zendai Group, as an ‘archisculptural icon for 21st century China’.

Venue map

The Himalayas Centre will incorporate the Daguan Theatre with multi-functional auditorium seating 1,600, the Himalayas Mall and Himalayas Creative Complex / Museum Zone, as well as the two luxury hotels.

The boutique-style Zendai Hotel Yin will occupy the top four floors of the dedicated hotel tower.

There will be 78 guestrooms, ranging in size from the 376 square meters presidential suite to 60 square meters luxury suites, which are accessed via elevators exclusively for use by boutique hotel guests.
Much more HERE.
Source: Travel Tips

author Gareth Powell, source feedproxy.google.com

The Beijing Times, quoting a bulletin released by the municipal bureau of tourism, said 21 key scenic zones in Beijing had 920,000 tourist arrivals on one day last week, a year-on-year rise of 61.9%.

It was not just new attractions, such as venues of the Olympic Games,

On Thursday, the Forbidden City hosted 120,000 visitors, a year-on-year rise of 140%, and 97,000 for the section of the Great Wall at Badaling, up 55%, and 92,000 for the Summer Palace, up 67%, and 65,000 for the Temple of Heaven, up 76.%.

The National Holiday, which marks the 1949 founding of the People’s Republic of China, started last Monday and ended on Sunday. Now the interesting figures will be those that follow this Golden Week holiday.

Judging by other Olympic resorts around the world visitors stay away from once-used Olympic venues  UNLESS a serious attempt is made to keep them interested with other, relevant, attractions.
Source: China Daily

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

Tourist in China

The China National Tourism Administration states China’s tourism income reached RMB1,095.7 billion ($160.328 billion) in 2007, up 22.6% year-on-year.

Last year China had 131.87 million inbound tourists. Domestic were 1.6 million and outbound travelers 40.95 million.

International tourism income reached $41.91 billion, up 23.5%. Domestic tourism income reached RMB777.06 billion, up 24.7%.

Tourists from other Asian countries took up 61.5% of all international tourists. The Republic of Korea continued to be the first on the list of nations.

By the end of 2007, the country had 13,583 star hotels, up 6.5%, while the number of travel agencies increased to 18,943 from 17,957 in the previous year.
Source: China View

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

The Olympics encourage tourism.

According to a survey released by the Nielson Company China has become even more of a global tourist attraction after the Beijing Olympics.

The survey said the Olympics not only built up China’s image but also served as an advertisement for China’s tourism.

The online survey was conducted on consumers in 16 countries and regions before the Games’ opening ceremony and after the closing.

About 80% of the respondents had not been to China before the events and 50% of them expressed hopes of visiting China after the Games.

According to the survey, 70% of the respondents felt Beijing was more modern and scientific than what they had thought.

The most interested respondents were from Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Mexico, Taiwan, South Africa and the Republic of Korea.

Pan Wen, in charge of Chinese tourism research of the Nielson Company, said the World Tourism organization predicted that China would become the largest tourist attraction in the world with 137 million foreign tourists every year.
Source: China View

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

Tourists in China

The Beijing Foreign Enterprises Service (FESCO) said in a recent report that Beijing and Shanghai will each need 500,000 trained hotel staff by 2010 to serve the millions of overseas tourists expected to pour into the country for sightseeing and international conferences.

It also said that at least 10,000 sports management professionals and 7,000 trainers will also be needed this year to meet the Chinese public’s renewed interest in physical training and sports generally.

Li Yiguang, Assistant General Manager and Director of recruitment department with FESCO, said, ‘These rising demands are attributable to the Olympic Games, which have stimulated local interest in sports as well as making China an even more popular travel destination for the next two to three years.’

Professional consultant Hao Jian was quoted as saying in the Guangzhou Daily that the Olympic games’ influence on the host country’s economy, particularly its tourism and sports, usually ‘lasts for a decade’.
Source: China Daily

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

China tourism authorities have been working hard with a view to reaping future benefits from the Beijing Olympics.

Past experience indicated tourism received the most direct, marked and sustained benefits from hosting an Olympics.

Du Jiang, China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) deputy director, seen here, said China had been taking many measures in the pre-Games years to promote its tourism image and lure more visitors.

Measures had been taken by tourism authorities across the country:

Enhancing supervision on service quality.
Improving management of tourism market.
Standardizing services at scenic spots.
Expanding service facilities.
Source: China Daily

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

According to forecasts from the World Tourism Organization, China will be the world’s largest inbound tourism market, the fourth largest for outbound tourism and the largest for domestic tourism in the world by 2015.

This will probably translate into more than 100 million overseas tourists and more than 2.8 billion domestic tourists in China by 2015.

Last year, Beijing received 4.4 million overseas tourists and 140 million domestic tourists, a growth of 11.6% and 6.1% year on year.

However, the new supply of more than 12,000 internationally managed hotel rooms in Beijing in 2008 means the future is not, as yet, totally clear.

If the outlook for Beijing has yet to firm up, Shanghai, the financial center of China, seems to be enjoying a rosy picture extending in to the long term.

The number of overseas tourists arriving in the city had a compound annual growth rate of 13.8% between 2002 and 2007.

With the expansion of the Shanghai New International Expo Center and the coming of the World Expo 2010, the city has got it made with the MICE market both regionally and globally.
Source: China View

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

Hotel MGM Grand Macau

Helena Fernandes, deputy head of Macau’s tourist office, told a news conference that Macau wants to attract more international visitors to reduce its reliance on Greater China. It hopes to do that partly by moving upmarket.

Tourism in Macau has been affected by a massive expansion of its gambling industry.

Revenues in Macau’s $15 billion gaming industry overtook those of Las Vegas in late 2006. Macau now has 29 casinos and more are on the way.

Last year almost 30 million people visited Macau, a year-on-year rise of more than one-fifth, but less than one-tenth came from outside of mainland China, Hong Kong or Taiwan, and most did not stay overnight.

Tourism and gambling revenues make up more than half of Macau’s GDP.

The push to look past China was partially sparked by new restrictions on mainlanders visiting Macau, introduced last month to try and slow the territory’s galloping economy and over concerns too many Chinese officials were frittering money away in Macanese casinos.

Helena Fernandes said, ‘Obviously from a strategic point of view we feel this is a very good moment for us to not just pursue quantity but also to give a very good look at the quality of what we’re providing.’
Source: Yahoo News Asia

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

Beijing’s summer tourism season has been slow, and hotels and travel agencies say many potential visitors are being put off by tightened visa rules and scarce tickets to Olympic events.

Anthony Ha, general manager of the newly opened Marriott Courtyard Beijing Northeast (seen in the illustration) said, ‘We are not full at the moment, and we have rooms to fill. There’s not much time left, and we have a way to go.’

The city’s hotel industry, which has more than doubled its five- and four-star hotels offerings to 160 since Beijing was awarded the Olympics seven years ago.

A report last month from the Beijing Tourism Bureau that showed five-star hotels were 77% booked, and four stars were at 44%.

The average price of a five-star hotel in Beijing ranged from $560 to $1,150 per nightalthough some rates were reported as high as $2,000 per night during the Olympics. The four-star average was $325.

According to the bureau the number of foreign visitors to Beijing in May dropped by 12.5% from a year ago.

The shortfall in visitors coincides with new visa regulations that make it tougher for tourists and business executives to enter China.

Si Cunxia, sales manager of Travel China travel agency said, ‘A lot of the hotels overestimated their occupancy rate for July and August.’
Source: Associated Press

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

Japanese overseas bookings will decline for a second year on rising fuel costs and a worsening economic outlook according to the Japanese Travel Bureau,

Travel abroad may fall 7% to 2.25 million trips. Tourism to China will fall 37% as compared to Japanese visits within Asia which may decline about 12% to 1.14 million.

JTB said, ‘With consumer prices rising, concerns about the economy and higher fuel surcharges, demand for summer family travel is likely to be affected. Food, daily products and gasoline prices are rising, causing uncertainty among consumers.’

Will this directly affect China?

If there are only 1.14 million visits to China then a drop of even 37% is not of immediate concern. But it is a straw in the wind and if other countries react in the same way is a worry.

A family of four traveling to China would pay about 900,000 yen ($842) in fuel surcharges, doubled from last year. (The illustration is Hello Kitty, the official emblem of Japan tourism. He is waving goodbye.)
Source: Bloomberg

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

Reports that China’s Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of kung fu and the star of many martial arts films and a major tourist attraction, has set up an online store, seems to be a criticism that it should indulge in such commercialism. Which seems odd given the fact that cathedrals in, say, Britain do almost anything to make money.

The Shaolin temple in Song Shan in Henan Province has set up new web page on the popular Chinese e-commerce site www.taobao.com, offering a range of goods including shoes, tea, T-shirts and slippers.

Enthusiasts can buy a kung fu instruction manual or a pair of ‘environmentally friendly’ chopsticks.

Shaolin Temple’s business ventures include kung fu shows, film production and a reality TV search for the next kung fu star. Its monks also go on world tours to demonstrate feats of agility and balance.
Source: Reuters

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

China has been restricting foreign visitors from entering the country in the hope of guarding against terrorist threats or unruly visitors who might plot to disrupt the Games, which begin August 8.

The government appears to be approving fewer tourist visas. Business executives say they face new bureaucratic hurdles to visiting the city. And hotels are being asked to give the government detailed information about foreign guests.

The high published rates for Beijing hotels during the summer and difficulty getting Olympic tickets have also dampened expectations, even though many five-star rated hotels say they are fully booked during the Olympics.

For a wide range of hotels, many economists are beginning to doubt whether Beijing will get the kind of windfall it was hoping for during the Games, which analysts had once forecast would bring 500,000 foreign visitors and an extra $4.5 billion in revenue to the city this summer.

Instead, in the weeks leading up to the Olympics, Beijing hotels are struggling to find guests; some large tourist agencies have closed for the summer; people traveling here for seminars and conferences are canceling.

Beijing appears less concerned about being the host of a global party, experts say, and more concerned with making sure no one spoils it.

Qin Gang, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a May news conference said, ‘In order to secure a safe environment in Beijing, we will carry the new visa policy for a certain time. This new visa policy is just temporary, not a permanent one.’
Source: International Herald Tribune

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

There are still plenty of hotel rooms available for the Beijing Olympics. Director of Beijing’s Tourism Bureau Zhang Huiguang (seen in our illustration) says the crunch that was predicted doesn’t seem to be happening.

She said that about 500,000 foreigners were expected for the games which is in line with earlier predications.

She said only 77% of capacity at Beijing’s five-star hotels have been booked during the Aug. 8-24 Olympic Games and the four-star hotel rate is only 44%. And it’s even lower for three-and two-stars.

There seems to be a logical contradiction here. If the numbers of visitors expected comes up to expectations how can the hotels be so under-utilized? Has someone made a miscalculation?

One reason for the low books could, perhaps, be China’s crack down on visa procedures.

This makes it more difficult to plan travel to the Olympics and, essentially, makes it a one stop journey. Another reason, perhaps, is the immense amount of negative publicity caused by the Tibetan demonstrations. Added to which was worldwide continuing reporting on air pollution problems.

Finally, the sheer total cost of seeing the Olympics may have deterred many potential tourists.
Source: The Canadian Press

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

According to a report issued by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) the annual inbound tourist arrival in China will surpass 163 million in the next three years.

PATA said in the report that China’s tourism industry recorded a staggering growth in the past two decades, and the industry is now worth more than $100 billion a year and creates 90 million jobs nationwide.

Peter de Jong, PATA chief executive officer said , ‘While the overall statistics are undoubtedly impressive, maximising tourism potential is not just about swelling numbers, but it is also about sustainability and even guaranteeing repeat traffic.’

Last year, 132 million overseas tourists visited the country.

What PATA did not say and what Peter de Jong apparently ignored is one simple fact. Whether those growth figures are met depends on the price of oil. Yes, it is daft that the tourism industry should be controlled by such a simple figure but it is true.

As the price of oil increases so will airfares. At the same time there will be a reduction in the number of flights and a lot of el cheapo airlines will go to the wall. The result will be that for a lot of tourists closer destinations will be more attractive. If the price of oil reaches $200 a barrel then these figures will have to revised downwards.

For the tourist industry this, at the moment, is the key figure to watch. It affects every single forward forecast.
Source: China Daily

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

Forthcoming international events — Olympic Games soon, World Fair in Shanghai in 2010 — means the Chinese tourism industry looks as though it is set to continue to grow for the
foreseeable future. China has not only emerged as an attractive tourist destination but also as a prominent tourist generating country.

‘China Tourism Industry Analysis (2007-2011)’, a research report by RNCOS says that in recent years, China has become the world’s fourth largest international tourist hub. The report believes it has has identified the reasons making China a tourism giant in the world.

According to the report, economic growth and reforms are creating favorable conditions for the Chinese tourism industry. But one of the major reasons for the high activity in the tourism industry of China is its accession to the WTO that gave a new direction to the Chinese tourism industry. This has further opened up the country to trade and investment opportunities.
The government is extending its full support and has already adopted several measures to promote the industry on a large scale.

The RNCOS research says growth in international tourism receipts by the industry was 58% up in 2007 over 2006.

China Tourism Industry Analysis (2007-2011) has examined each segment of the tourism industry thoroughly, including tourist arrivals, spending, and receipts, to identify its future potential.

The report also provides a forecast on revenue generation and international tourism receipts and more.
Source: Newswire

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

We keep reporting in these pages new hotels being opened. Who will stay in them? The answer is that, according to a report issued by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), the annual inbound tourist arrival in China will surpass 163 million in the next three years. (Note this is only an estimate issued by PATA although it is extremely likely to be achieved.)

The report says that China’s tourism industry recorded a staggering growth in the past two decades, and the industry is now worth more than $100 billion U.S. dollars a year and creates 90 million jobs nationwide.

Peter de Jong, PATA chief executive officer said, ‘While the overall statistics are undoubtedly impressive, maximizing tourism potential is not just about swelling numbers, but it is also about sustainability and even guaranteeing repeat traffic.’

Last year, 132 million overseas tourists visited the country so reaching the figure of 163 million is not too large a stretch to imagine.
Source: China View

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

True, you would not normally associate the Arabian nights with Hangzhou. Still Muslim Chinese were a strong influence in trade in Huangzhou and several relics linking China to the Arab world exist. These are featured at the Arabian Travel Market 2008. This tourism promotion of Hangzhou made it the first ever Chinese city to aggressively promote tourism within the UAE and in the Middle East.

In fact, Arabian link or no, Hangzhou is a remarkably attractive city. Marco Polo visited Hangzhou in the late 13th century and referred to the city as ‘beyond dispute the finest and the noblest in the world.’

He called the city Kinsay which simply means ‘capital’ in Chinese (actually Polo used a Persianized version of the word). Although he exaggerated — Marco Polo was not always a teller of the absolute truth — and said the city was over one hundred miles in diameter and had 12,000 stone bridges, still he thought the city remarkable.

He wrote: ‘The number and wealth of the merchants, and the amount of goods that passed through their hands, was so enormous that no man could form a just estimate thereof.’

Which gave Li Hong, Director of Hangzhou Tourism Commission, a running start when, at the Arabian Travel Market, he urged Arab tourists to come to Hangzhou and see for themselves the Phoenix Mosque, one of four ancient Islamic mosques in China built during the Tang Dynasty between 618 and 907 A.D.

Plus the tomb of Bhatia, the Arabian scholar and doctor, who came to the capital of ancient China, Lin-an (now known as Hangzhou) in Southern Song Dynasty, fell in love with the city and settled there spreading Islam in the area dating back to as far as 800 years ago. And as an added benefit more than 700 Lanzhou hand-extended noodle shops selling halal traditional Muslim food and qualified Hangzhou cuisine.

The tourism official said that their participation in the Arabian Travel Market 2008 demonstrated their commitment to a long friendly relation with the UAE, especially Dubai.
Source: MenaFN

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

A survey of American travelers by AAA and GlobalInsight has some interesting findings.

China and India may see larger jumps in American visitors this summer than any other country. China may see a 13% increase, to 573,000 American visitors.

Travel to Canada and Mexico will be about the same this summer as last.
Travel to Italy should be up nearly 5%, to 1.6 million American travelers.
Travel to France should jump by nearly 7% to about 1.1 million American travelers.
Travel to Germany ought to increase by slightly more than 4%, to 724,000 American travelers.

Which goes to show that although much is made of the China travel boom the facts are it is still a long, long way behind many, more traditional tourist countries.
Source: Budget

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com