Poland Hotels Booking

In a sense it is possible to say the problems Macau has been facing through restricted entry will go away in the months to come. This is because the Chinese province of Guangdong and the Special Administrative Regions of Macau and Hong Kong are going to cooperate to develop the Pearl River Delta with the […]

author Gareth Powell, source feedproxy.google.com

From a tandoor oven

The next Marriott which will open in Beijing around January, will have a fine-dining Indian restaurant serving Lucknow and Awadh cuisine made by a team of expat chefs. Tarun Varma, Director of event management at the Beijing Marriott City Wall , said, ‘It will be the first luxury hotel in China with a fine-dining restaurant for Indian cuisine.’

Seems a big claim to make.

Indian menus in China are still basic and forced to innovate with limited ingredients, like samosa folded in shortcrust pastry.

True tandoori dish

At a recent Hyderabad-themed party at the India Tourism office in Beijing, the restaurant catering for the event had to send their Garhwali chef to a senior official’s house, where his wife demonstrated how to cook Hyderabadi biryani and mirch ka salan.

Tarun Varma,  said, ‘Getting approval for a tandoor takes time in China, because there are detailed rules about burning open coal. We don’t want to use an electric oven like some restaurants prefer to.’
Source: Trading Markets

author Gareth Powell, source feedproxy.google.com

Millbrook in New Zealand: amazing and empty

Spending by domestic travelers in New Zealand fell by $507 million or 6.4% to $7.39 billion in the year to June 2008, new research from the New Zealand Ministry of Tourism shows.

The biggest overseas loss came from China. Visitors from there dropped by a third, falling by 2,700 to 5,497 in September.

Ministry research manager Bruce Bassett said, ‘Weaker economic conditions and high fuel costs during the period are being reflected in a reduction in demand for travel, including domestic travel.’

The number of overnight trips fell by 5.5% from the previous year to 14.4 million trips, while the number of day trips dropped 15.5% to 25.9 million.

If the price of fuel stayed down in coming months, Bassett expected to see an increase in domestic activity, particularly in the number of day trips.

This research comes the same week that Statistics NZ unveiled a big drop in the number of international visitors last month.

It said tourist numbers fell 6.6 %, or 11,100 people, in September compared with the same month last year — the equivalent of 25 jumbo jets full of passengers.
Source: New Zealand Herald

author Gareth Powell, source feedproxy.google.com

Crowds at Golden Week

Retails sales and the number of tourists throughout the Golden Week holiday broke records in China’s tourism industry.

This year’s National Day holiday, which marks the 1949 founding of the People’s Republic of China, ran from September 29 through October 5.

Figures released by the National Tourism Administration (NTA) showed the country’s 119 major tourist destinations received more than 18.29 million visitors. That’s an increase of 13.2% from a year earlier. The NTA also said ticket sales rose by 16.4% from last year which means there has been some easing upwards of prices.

The country’s retail sales during the Golden Week exceeded RM420 billion (about $61.3 billion), jumping 21% from the same holiday last year.
More HERE.
Source: Window of China

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

Map of Fujian

Nearly 300 tourists from the Mainland become the first to visit Taiwan via Kinmen on Fujian Island.

Some 282 Mainland tourists from Fujian province — including 134 tourists from five groups from Xiamen, 96 tourists from three groups from Quanzhou and 52 tourists from two groups from Fuzhou — became the first groups to take advantage of the government’s announcement in early September that people from the Mainland could visit Taiwan via the ‘mini link’ route.

The ‘mini links’ refer to direct sea transportation links between Kinmen and Matsu and several ports in Fujian province that are around 40 kilometers away.

Some 230 travelers took ferries from Xiamen and Quanzhou to Kinmen’s Shuitou wharf, and were scheduled to continue on to Taiwan on separate domestic flights later yesterday and today.
Source: Taiwan News

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum.

A popular tourist attraction in the city of Nanjing in Jiangsu province is fueling controversy for its entrance fees.

The management of the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, which contains the tomb of the father of the Republic of China revered by many Chinese at home and abroad, has reportedly been facing criticism for not opening its site for free to the public.

The scenic spot has an admission fee of RMB80 ($11.60 U.S. dollars), which is higher than the entrance fee for the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Ta Kung Pao, a Hong Kong newspaper quoted an official as saying the authorities will open the spot to the public for free next year.

In line with a regulation released earlier this year, museums, memorial halls and spots used for patriotic education began to open free of charge and received national allowances for rising operational costs.

Negotiations with the mausoleum’s management on the issue reportedly fell apart because the site required an allowance of RMB300 million every year, 10 times that proposed by the government.

Responding to the ongoing criticism, a publicity official of the mausoleum said yesterday that it is ‘impossible’ for the attraction to be free.
Source: Jongo News

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

Macau at night

The Macau Government Tourist Office has appointed travel PR specialist Hume Whitehead to promote the territory, a special administrative region of China, as a business and tourist destination.

This will not be an easy task.

The region is already best known for its casinos, but Hume Whitehead will be selling Macau as a multi-faceted destination by emphasizing its entertainment facilities and its standing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is also aiming to publicize Macau as an ideal location for business events and conventions.

UK travellers already make up most of Macau’s European visitors, but its  tourism chiefs are keen to attract higher numbers of British tourists.
Source: Brand Republic

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

Mao Chi-kuo

In Taiwan the Minister of Transportation and Communications has said he hopes the number of tourists coming to Taiwan from the mainland will increase through more direct flights and flight routes across the Taiwan Strait.

Mao declined to elaborate on how many more tourists he hopes to see, but he was quoted as saying in a recent radio interview that the hopes the number will increase to 1,000 per day.

Taiwan has a cap of 3,000 tourist arrivals from the mainland per day, but the actual arriving numbers have fallen far short of expectations.

Mao Chi-kuo noted that the mainland and Taiwan will conduct a second round of talks next month and expressed hope that the number of weekend flights can be increased from the current 18, along with an increase in flight destinations and routes.
Source: Yahoo News

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

Zen Shaolin show

‘Zen Shaolin,’ is an outdoor spectacle and tourist attraction in Henan Province, China. The extravaganza, with a cast of 500, is staged after nightfall in a valley that sits before a huge mountain in central Henan Province, one of the cradles of Chinese civilization.

For those who were dazzled by the opening of the Beijing Olympics earlier this month, that ceremony had its roots in shows like this one, which with government backing and private financing are drawing huge audiences to some of China’s most scenic or historic spots.

The outdoor performances are part cultural event, part tourist attraction, with a dash of Hollywood and an intriguing blend of high and pop culture.

In the new China, investors and the government can team up to acquire a mountain, hire the Academy Award-winning composer Tan Dun and the internationally known dancer and choreographer Huang Dou Dou, and produce a spectacle that includes monks from the famed Shaolin Temple.

The project’s investors spent more than $15 million to build a theater set in a valley below three mountains, one rising 4,921 feet, with temples, a wooden pagoda, a martial-arts school, an arched bridge, a stream and a small village with a stone pathway.

One of the hopes of the producers was that “Zen Shaolin,” which opened in May 2007, would bolster tourism in a province that has 100 million residents and has largely been left behind by China’s economic boom. Much more HERE.
Source: New York Times

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

Stanley Ho

Last month Stanley Ho, the Hong Kong-born gambling magnate, announced plans to tear down his flagship Lisboa casino and hotel and build his biggest and most opulent showcase yet, at a cost of $1.54 billion. The amazing 86-year-old also pushed through a long-delayed initial public offering for the company he controls, SJM Holdings, raising $494 million.

Since 2002, when this former Portuguese colony allowed others to break into Stanley Ho’s longtime monopoly here, Las Vegas heavyweights have had massive casinos built.

The combined gambling revenue for all Macau’s casinos increased 80% to $10.3 billion between 2005 and 2007, making it bigger than Atlantic City and the Las Vegas Strip combined.

Over the same period, revenue at SJM’s operating subsidiary, Sociedade De Jogos de Macau, fell to $4.1 billion from $4.3 billion, as business dropped off at its older, comparatively cramped casinos.

SJM owns 19 of Macau’s 29 casinos and 29% of the market’s gambling revenues. Las Vegas Sands, which owns two casinos, is close behind with 21%.

SJM and Stanley Ho, its chairman, are now going on the offensive.

In view of the possibility of China restricting access for locals to Macau this seems interesting timing. Much more on this HERE.
Source: Wall Street Journal

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

From July 18 Taiwan will open its borders for the first time to up to 3,000 visitors per day from the mainland. The tourists will be subjected to a number of restrictions. The tourism agreement between the mainland and Taiwan stipulates no gambling by Chinese tourists in Taiwan.

The agreements on charter flights means that tourists from the mainland will only be able to travel only with tour groups.

The travel agencies that arrange the the trips will not be allowed to arrange any activities that have to do with gambling or pornography, although pornography was not defined.

Managers from mainland travel agencies traveled to Taiwan to see the various hotels and transportation options available to tourists. They also were working on packages that could be offered to their customers.

The agreement that is in place will send a maximum of 3,000 Chinese tourists a day to Taiwan. 36 charter flights will be available at weekends.

In Taiwan the Mainland Affairs Council said visitors from China will have to a fixed travel schedule. The duration of stay will initially be limited to ten days. Prospective visitors will also have to show they have assets equivalent to $6,500 when applying for their permit to travel.
Sources: Casino Gambling Web and Radio Taiwan International

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

Exhibitors at the Beijing International Tourism Expo were promoting their products and competing for tourists, betting on a continuously booming tourism market after the 2008 Olympic Games.

The three-day opened to coincide with the 50-day countdown for the 2008 Games. It has attracted more than 700 tourism industry players from home and abroad, the most popular since the annual expo started in 2004.

Some industry experts have repeated that the 2008 Games would be a great opportunity for China’s tourism industry. Every player in the sector wants to share a piece of the Olympic cake and no one could afford to skip it.

However, others worried about an industry slump after the Games, as had happened to some previous Olympics hosts.

Yu Hong, an official with China Youth Travel Service, said, ‘A short-term industry lull right after the Games is expected, as tourists tried to avoid the travel peak from the Games. We are optimistic about the country’s tourism industry in the post-Olympic era.’

He expected the downturn to end after September when people started to spend their saved holidays.

The country is expected to become the world’s largest tourism destination by 2015. Its tourism earnings hit RMB1.09 trillion (RMB155.7 billion) in 2007, up 22.6% year on year.
Source: China View

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

Hainan today styles itself on Hawaii and aims to become a luxury destination with several high-end resorts opening up for business.

April alone saw the Ritz-Carlton and Singapore-listed Banyan Tree opening resorts. The Mandarin Oriental follows in late 2008.

All of this hotel activity marks a huge change for Hainan, which until recently was known in China as a place for cheap-and-cheerful package tours, and little known abroad except in Russia, South Korea and Japan.

The Banyan Tree Sanya’s general manager, Peter Pedersen said, ‘Sanya is one of the real new tropical destinations in Asia, and in China in particular it is the only tropical island. It’s becoming more and more in demand for both the local market and the international tourist market. It makes a perfect spot. The resort’s pool villas are RMB5,000 ($716) a night.

Hoteliers say the market is ripe for the move upscale.

Michel Goget, general manager of the Ritz-Carlton Sanya said, ‘It’s going to enhance the image of Sanya as not only being a good touristic destination but also now to capture elite travelers. Not only from the mainland, but from the world.’

While most tourists to Hainan are mainland Chinese — 18 million last year against just 750,000 overseas visitors — the government is working hard to attract affluent foreigners.

Provincial tourism bureau head Zhang Qi said last month that the goal is to ‘within five years, attract 20 famous international hotel management groups, and make the number of five star, international-standard resorts rise to 60 or more.’

This may be a hope too far especially if the price of air travel zooms. Then there is the problem of visas. In Thailand and most other places in Asia you do not need them. You do for China. Sanya has a large airport but flights are limited mainly to domestic destinations.

Tourists say they love the scenery, the sea, the weather and the beaches. But, at the moment, that is all there is.

Still, the potentially huge Chinese market is a major draw for the resorts, which hope to leverage on the millions of people who have benefited from the country’s economic boom and are increasingly adopting Western lifestyles and aspirations.

Banyan Tree’s Pedersen said, ‘Some of the estimates I’ve seen suggest 450 million middle class Chinese in 10 years from now. I think Sanya has a huge potential.’ Which needs some work on the infrastructure if that potential is to be realized.
Source: Reuters

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

It seems likely that with the easing of tensions between the mainland and Taiwan then we can look forward to something of a tourist boom. Hoteliers and guides and restaurants plainly think this is a good thing.

However, the prospect of a mainland tourist invasion has not been view throughout with unalloyed delight.

Skeptics say only a few privileged businesses would benefit, and that the island’s scenic spots could be spoiled by greedy developers and a tourist stampede.

Long off-limits to the mainland Taiwan is now popular among mainland tourists for its scenery, preservation of Chinese tradition and for historical sites.

Chinese tourists were first officially admitted to Taiwan in 2002. But visits are capped at 1,000 a day, and tourists must travel to the island via third locations because of restrictions on direct cross-strait flights.

If Ma Ying-jeou, the president-elect, (seen looking dashing in our illustration) has his way, that will change.

Ma, who takes office on May 20, has promised to reach an agreement on more Chinese tourists and weekend cross-strait charter flights by early July, expanding to weekday charters by the end of the year and regularly scheduled flights by summer 2009. All this is part of his election pledge to stimulate the island’s laggard economy with closer cross-strait economic ties.

Under the plan, the cap would be tripled to 3,000 Chinese tourists a day, or more than 1 million per year. Last year, 320,169 mainlanders visited Taiwan, only 81,900 of whom officially came as tourists. The rest were listed as business travelers or ‘others.’

In a few years, Ma hopes, the cap could rise to 10,000 tourist visits per day.

Tourist revenues will have benefits throughout the economy, he says, especially helping lower- and middle-income Taiwanese in the service sector.

The investment bank CLSA estimates that if 1 million Chinese tourists visit Taiwan each year they will spend $1.3 billion, and help boost GDP by up to 1.4% of 2007 levels.

Not everyone has such a rosy view. Some point out that the economic benefits will not be spread around, because Chinese tend to travel to Taiwan in regimented tour groups that only stop at contracted businesses.
Source: NewsWire

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

One gets cynical about travel awards because there are so many of the damn things. It the then travel editor of the Sydney Morning Herald could garner three awards — and he did and it was me — then it is pretty much open season.

However the inaugural TTG China Travel Awards have just been held and 39 best performing travel trade organizations operating within China were honored. There were 400 people at the event which means one award for every ten attendees which seems a fairly normal proportion.

This year’s awards covers 6 categories, with 39 awards in total. All readers of TTG China, TTG-BTmice China, TTG Asia and TTGmice were invited to vote for their favorite travel and tourism organizations. More then 12,600 TTG readers across the Asia Pacific participated in the voting exercise.
1. Best China Airline Overall — Air China
2. Best International Airline Serving China — Singapore Airlines
3. Best Business Class Airline in China — China Southern Airlines
4. Best Global Hotel Chain Operating in Greater China — InterContinental Hotels Group
5. Best Local Hotel Chain Operating in Greater China — Gloria International Hotels
6. Best Luxury Hotel Brand in Greater China — Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts
7. Best Mid-range Hotel Brand in Greater — China Novotel
8. Best Luxury Hotel in Beijing — Raffles Beijing Hotel China
9. Best Luxury Hotel in Shanghai — The Westin Bund Center Shanghai
10. Best Luxury Hotel in Guangdong — InterContinental Shenzhen

And it went on from there. If it gets down to awarding a prize for the best MICE city in China — it was Shanghai — it is time to draw a line. Our illustration shows the statue. Decorously fuzzed around the important parts.
Source: Travel Daily News

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com