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

Macau gambling casinos

A report that China is imposing new visa restrictions for visitors to Macau is taking a toll on U.S. gaming stocks with properties in Asia’s Las Vegas.

The South China Morning Post said Mainland authorities have quietly changed the visitation policy for the residents of the southern Chinese province of Guangdong.

Residents now are allowed one trip every three months instead of two months. One of Macau’s biggest sources of customers is Guangdong.

The Hong Kong-based paper said the new policy, which quietly took effect on October 1, seems to be aimed at curbing the outflow of Mainland money and limiting casino development.

U.S. companies with hotel casinos in Macau include MGM Mirage, Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands.

China’s new visa policy follows several moves to tighten visits to Macau since June.

Andy Wu Keng-kuong, president of the Travel Industry Council of Macau, said the visa limits could hurt growth in Mainland visitors.

He still expects visitor numbers for the year to be up 10% from 2007. Visitor arrivals to Macau have been rising by almost 20% annually in recent years.
Source: CNN Money. com

Marco Polo Wuhan

Marco Polo Wuhan, is a new hotel fully developed by Han Long Development, a subsidiary of The Wharf of Hong Kong.

The hotel opened it door on September 15, 2008, the occasion of the 755th birthday of famous Italian traveler — Marco Polo (arguably September 15, 1254 – January 8, 1324).

This is Marco Polo Hotels’ 4th hotel in China and the latest addition to the Group’s portfolio in the country.

Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, is the largest city in Central China.

The Yangtze River divides Wuhan into three towns, namely Hankou, Hanyang, and Wuchang. Thus the city has been called ‘the city on rivers’.

Marco Polo Wuhan is at the edge of an urban riverfront park with panoramic views of the Yangtze River. It is located close to the Wuhan business district area and only 30 minutes to the Wuhan International Airport, Wuhan’s main ports of entry.

The hotel is part of the Times Square residential and commercial complex. Each room has an iPod surround sound system and Internet Access. There is also as a fully-equipped fitness centre with an indoor pool, sauna and Jacuzzi. This is also equipped as a MICE hotel.
Source: Focus on Travel News

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

Olympics Birds Nest

The most popular attraction in China at the moment is the Olympic Common Domain (OCD), were the Bird’s Nest, the Water Cube and the National Indoor Stadium are located. These have has eclipsed Beijing’s traditional attractions as tourists’ first choice in the first two days of the Golden Week.

Around 283,000 people visited the OCD on Monday and Tuesday, compared to 212,800 for the Forbidden City, or Palace Museum.

However, bear in mind that Golden Week is for Chinese tourists and the figures may quickly resort to normal.

The Olympic Green, housing a forest park and the OCD, are open to the public for the week-long National Day holiday that began on Monday.

Each day there are 80,000 tickets available priced at RMB50 ($7.30) for the Bird’s Nest, and 12,000 tickets and RMB30  for the Water Cube.

Visitors have been allowed to bring their own drinks and food.

If the number of visitors exceeds 250,000 — the full capacity of the Olympic Green — police will temporarily close it.

On Monday 380,000 visitors flocked to 21 key tourism sites in Beijing, 25.6% up on last year.
Source: China Daily

Marriott Hotel style

Marriott Hotels is planning to expand its product offering by adding a number of new properties across its brands to its already growing portfolio in Asia.

The chain, which operates franchises under 10 brand names, has made its most extensive expansion in China, with the JW Marriott Shanghai leading the way as its flagship property in the region.

Marriott has 29 hotels in China offering 12,507 rooms for visitors across 6 of its brands.

17 new hotels for China are in the pipeline, and by 2012 it is estimated some 62 hotels or 7,000 extra rooms, across its various brands will be launched in the region.
Source: eTravel Blackboard

Talise Wellness spa

Jumeirah, the Dubai-based luxury hotel company, has been appointed by GT Land Holdings to manage a luxury hotel in Guangzhou.

The Jumeirah Guangzhou Hotel, Jumeirah Group’s second hotel to be signed in China, will be in the center of New Pearl City Tian He District, Guangzhou’s premier and rapidly growing commercial city center.

The Jumeirah Guangzhou Hotel will feature a sky lobby, with elegantly appointed guest rooms, distinctive dining concepts and Jumeirah’s own luxury Talise Wellness spa all situated on the top floors of the 50-storey GT Land Plaza, with commanding views of city-centre Guangzhou.
Source: Gulf News

Huangguoshu Waterfall

Located almost 140 kilometers from Guizhou’s provincial capital of Guiyang the Huangguoshu Waterfall in Southwestern China’s Guizhou Province  is the biggest in Asia and one of China’s most famous tourist spots.

The Huangguoshu Waterfall Festival was set up with the stated aim of attracting even more visitors to the area.

Started in 2004, the festival showcases regional folk customs and culture. A performance offering a glimpse into the civilization and ancient rituals of Guizhou’s Tunpu people, marked the start of the festival. (The fact that such cultural events have, generally, been found to be a major turn-off for tourists is somewhat besides the point for it has already happened.)

Tour groups have made the trip to the area for the festival. And over 200 thousand people are expected to visit the waterfall during China’s National Day holiday.
Source: CCTV.com

The Langham style

Langham Hotels International has signed a deal with Guangzhou Huihua Hotel to manage the Langham Place which is in the Guangzhou Economic Development Zone (EDZ) in Luogang District.

The new hotel is set to open in 2010.

This deal marks LHI’s first expansion into Southern China, following its earlier entry into Shanghai and Beijing where three new hotels are scheduled to open their doors in 2009 under The Langham and Langham Place brands.

The hotel location — Guangzhou Economic Development Zone (EDZ) in Luogang District, is a key economic area in eastern Guangzhou.

More HERE.
Source: Asia Travel Tips

A new ski resort

Melco China Resorts (MCR) is the largest operator and developer of ski resorts in China. It is currently transforming one existing ski area in Beijing and four existing ski areas in the North Eastern provinces of Heilongjiang and Jili, most notably Sun Mountain Yabuli. The company envisions a network of year-round village centered, destination mountain resorts in China.

According to the China Ski Association, the total number of ski visits in China increased by 109% to over 4 million between 1999 and 2004.

Melco has plans first for Sun Mountain Yabuli as an up-market recreational resort. It is 2.5 hours southeast of the city of Harbin by road or 90 minutes by train and is a village-centered mountain resort with three premium hotels under construction.

Much more HERE.
Source: First Tracks and BizChina