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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

The Beijing Olympic Games are sparking fierce competition among hotel groups.

The US-based Hilton Hotels, which has five properties in China, hopes to have two more open by the end of July.
Marriott International has opened three hotels in the capital under the JW Marriott, Courtyard and Ritz-Carlton brands and increased its Beijing portfolio to seven. It is preparing to open two more, a Renaissance and a Marriott, in July.
InterContinental Hotels Group says eight more of its hotels will open this year in Beijing. The group already has nine hotels in Beijing.

Besides the new openings, many existing upscale hotels in Beijing, including New World Jing Guang Hotel, China World Hotel Beijing and Shangri-La Hotel Beijing, have redecorating and or expansion work scheduled for completion before the Games begin on August 8.

Lin Yuan, director of sales and marketing with Novotel Beijing Sanyuan said, ‘The Olympics is absolutely a golden opportunity, nobody would like to miss promoting themselves.’

There will be about 50,200 athletes, international workers, journalists, sponsors and their business clients who will be accommodated by 112 local hotels.

However, no hotel group is banking on just the Olympics. Sustainable economic growth is their goal.

The Beijing Tourism Bureau believes the number of overseas guests will grow at around 30 to 60% annually, rising to a peak in 2010, and the average occupancy rate will increase to more than 72% in 2009. A lot of hoteliers are praying that the Bureau’s projections come to fruition.
Source: China Daily

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

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

The latest foreign firm to expand in China amid the country’s economic boom is luxury hotel group, Marriott International. It hopes to open 24 more hotels in China over the next three years.

Marriott Hotels which launched its first hotel in China in 1989, says with the pending Olympic Games, it will add over 1,000 rooms in Beijing. The U.S hotel group also has its eye on the MICE (meeting, incentive, conference and exhibition) market, which is rapidly growing across China.

Three new hotels trading under the names of Marriott, Renaissance and Courtyard by Marriott will be opened in the capital this year.

The big plans for the 24 new hotels will, of course, depend totally on what happens to the price of oil. If it goes up to $200 a barrel — which is possible but perhaps not totally likely — there will be a very quick revision of plans. If it were to stabilize at, say, $120 a barrel — again possible but not likely — then the hotels will boom. Our illustration is the impressive Marriott Guangzhou.
Source: BizChina

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

The government has brought in new visa rules in order to keep better tabs on the more than 1.5 million visitors expected for the Olympic Games in August.
While the new regulations are having more of an impact on foreigners living and working in China, tourists are also being required to jump through a few extra hoops.

According to the Chinese consulate in New York, people applying for a 30-day tourist visa must now provide proof that they have purchased round-trip airplane tickets and have made reservations at hotels for their entire stay.
Here are the required documents for tourist visas:

1. A completed visa application form, which can be downloaded at china-embassy.org/eng.
2. A passport with plenty of extra pages, valid for at least six months.
3. One recent passport photo.
4. Copies of hotel bookings from the day you arrive to the day you leave.
5. Copies of your round-trip airplane tickets. (This one is a bit tricky since airline tickets no longer exist. It will have to be a print out of the itenerary.)

China has also suspended multiple-entry visas until October which means side trips to, say, Thailand, where this is being written and back to China on the same visa will not be possible.

Lastly, you cannot submit a visa application to the Chinese embassy or any consulate in by mail — you have to either take it to the office personally, or have a friend or travel agent do it.

Visa prices have also gone up to $130 for individual applicants, and $110 per person for people applying as part of a tour group. That is a lot of money for a visa.

There is not that much change from the earlier rules. And one thing will hopefully remain constant — the courtesy and helpfulness of the issuing bureaux. The one in Sydney, Australia, is exemplary.
Source: Budget Travel

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

The French Foreign Ministry claims the official tourism body for the Chinese capital of Beijing has urged tour operators to stop selling holiday packages to France. That is probably debatable. What is not debatable is the strong reaction in China to the French and their dealing with the carrying of the Olympic flame.

Thousands of pro-Tibet protesters disrupted the relay of the Olympic flame through Paris last month, forcing the torch to be extinguished. And it is not arguable the French government could have done a lot more to control the situation.

Perhaps they thought China would not notice. They were wrong. Chinese nationalists subsequently called for a boycott of French goods.

The government in Paris had hoped that now tensions were easing and the tourism boycott caught officials by surprise.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Pascale Andreani told a regular news conference, ‘We have learnt that this recommendation was made by the tourism administration of Beijing. Our embassy in Beijing is currently taking steps with the Chinese authorities to find out the reasons that could have motivated it.’

If it happened it was because the efforts that were made by the French police to manage the run were, on the television footage available, pathetic.

While it is true the Olympic torch’s procession has also been disrupted in a number of other cities, most notably in London and San Francisco, the only place where it got out of control was France..

Some 700,000 tourists from mainland China visited France last year, according to Maison de la France, a tourism body. It was not clear how many of those came from Beijing.

Not helping is President Nicolas Sarkozy suggesting he will boycott the event unless China started talks with the Dalai Lama. As it happens the Chinese government has started such talks. Perhaps the best solution is for him not to come to the Olympics but just send along his wife — his third if one is counting — who is the pop singer Carla Bruni as seen in our illustration. Much more acceptable.
Source: Reuters

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

Hong Kong is expecting a slump in tourism in August when it hosts the equestrian events for the Beijing Olympics with hotels only half-full and visitor growth down sharply.

This seems to have come as a major surprise to the hoteliers of Hong Kong even though every Olympics, without exception, has overall had an adverse affect on hotel occupation in one way or the other.

Hong Kong spent more than $4 million promoting the events worldwide which suggests the tourist board has lost touch with reality. While it may be true in England that there is a following in most other countries people simply do not go to horse events. At the Australian Olympics you could stroll up to many events without having booked a ticket.

Yet there is another effect. Because of the magical words Olympic Games — and perhaps because of the publicity which has been created to attract people — other travelers plan their visits to avoid being near the Games because of a false feeling that the place will be over-crowded.

Hoteliers say advance bookings for August indicate occupancy of only 50%.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board meanwhile estimates that month-on-month visitor growth will slump to single figures from last year’s 16.9% growth because of the Olympics.

Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners Michael Lee said he believed that only 3,000 to 5,000 people would come to Hong Kong specifically to watch the equestrian events — a tiny number in a city that attracts some 30 million visitors a year.

He said, as if it were some sort of revelation, ‘The equestrian events are not a popular sport like soccer.’

No, they are not and other tourists will stay away from Hong Kong fearing overcrowding and high prices.

But all of this was well known. Hong Kong Tourism Board chairman James Tien said tourists normally stayed away from Olympic host cities to avoid crowds, as they did in Sydney in 2000 and again in Athens in 2004. If it was that well known why did the Tourism Board waste $4 million trying to get people to come and watch the unspeakable ride the uneatable over fences? It wonders me.
Source: Bangkok Post

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

Beijing tourism authorities will launch a recruitment drive for homestay accommodations for Olympic visitors.

Xiong Yumei, Beijing Tourism Bureau’s deputy director, said citizens in eight urban districts could apply to nearby community offices if they think their housing conditions meet the standard for homestay accommodation.

The standard, released in late March, requires ‘Olympic Family Hotels’ to have special bedrooms for foreign guests, washing, bathing and cooking equipment. At least one person in the family should be able to communicate with the guests in a foreign language.

About 1,000 such homestays will be selected. Applications will end April 30.

The charge for each room is initially set to be between RMB400 and RMB600 ($57 to $85), far lower than most hotels.

The suggestion is that there are, in fact, enough hotel rooms for visitors. The home accommodation is intended to let foreign visitors experience the life of Beijingers and have friendly exchanges with them.

The China Travel Service Head Office and the China International Travel Service Head Office (CITS) will organize homestay accommodation guests.

In Yayuncun in Chaoyang District, a pilot place for the program, 41 homes have been selected from 60 as homestay accommodation candidates.

Han Rubing, a college English teacher who lives in Yayuncun, said she would do some fitments in her two-bedroom home if it is selected to be an ‘Olympic Family Hotel’.

She said, ‘If we are lucky enough to play host to foreign guests, we will do our best to make them feel satisfactory.’

The illustration is NOT of a typical Beijing homestay but it IS of a Beijing homestay. Check in out HERE.
Source: China View

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com