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

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

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

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

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

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

Wang Zhifa, National Tourist Administration (NTA) deputy director, said China’s tourism market has become a magnet for international investment, raising about RMB150 billion ($21.8 billion) annually over the past few years.

He added, ‘Some high-end international tourism products have made their way into the Chinese market, such as port calls by luxury liners and booming business for limousine and yacht rentals.’

Despite this he said the country still faced great hurdles even though it was poised to become the world’s largest tourist destination by 2015.

He said the industry still lacked large companies to take a leadership position in comprehensive tourist development.

He added public service in tourism, from tourist consultation to toilets in scenic spots, had been substantially improved.

Wang said the NTA had given project approval to five-star hotels on a monthly basis, and more project applications were on the waiting list. Tianjin, for example, had a total of 45 five-star hotel projects planned between now and 2010. This would draw investment of up to RMB83.8 billion.

Last year, the country welcomed 54.7 million inbound overnight tourists putting at fourth position in the world tourism stakes.
Source: China View

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

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

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