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A pilot scheme for Mainland-authorized Hong Kong travel enterprises to organize group tours to Hong Kong for non-Guangdong residents in Shenzhen —  these are currently allowed — will bring extra Mainland tourists to Hong Kong and contribute to the Hong Kong economy.

The Tourism Commission said the scheme is part of the Central Government’s policy. And that it should happen quite soon as part of services liberalization and facilitation measures.

Depending on the results, it is hoped the Central Government will extend it to other cities in Guangdong Province.

China Travel Service (Holdings) Hong Kong has been authorised to operate this business and is discussing the details with Mainland authorities.

The company plans to organise ‘three-day-two-night’ tour groups to Hong Kong. These groups’ itinerary will include Hong Kong Disneyland (it is to be hoped this is not compulsory) and other attractions.
Source: Business and Finance HK

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

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

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

Having just imbibed a coffee and scoffed a chocolate slice in the Accor hotel it is possible to attest that the food is quite the article. This is in Bangkok as France-based hotelier Accor multiplies its Pullman brand throughout the Asia-Pacific, Thailand’s Pullman Bangkok King Power is the model for the region.

As the writer paid for the coffee and tabnab what is written here is without fear or favor or bribe from hotel PR.

Accor has big Asia-Pacific expansion plans for its newest high-end hotel brand, and Pullman Bangkok King Power, the French hotel giant’s first Pullman hotel in Asia, opened its doors in October 2007. The favorable response from clients so far has ensured it will be the benchmark for an array of Asia-based Pullman hotels on the horizon, Accor says. This despite the fact that, in the opinion of the writer, it is a little out of the main stream but very close to the AUA where I do my Thai lessons. With little success.

By the end of 2008, the Pullman network will consist of 56 hotels and more than 13,000 rooms in 23 countries in Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and South America. Five new Pullman hotels will be launched in China by 2010.

Accor Asia-Pacific Chairman and COO Michael Issenberg, said, ‘In the Asia-Pacific region, the Pullman brand will expand rapidly in the next 12 months, particularly in China. Further extensive development is planned throughout the region over the coming years.’

Pullman Bangkok King Power’s experience in Asia will be a development model. The daft name come from the fact that King Power is a major company which plainly is the owner while Accor does the management. Judging by King Power’s performance at the new airport where all sorts of jiggery-pokery have been alleged this is no bad thing.

If the Pullman’s in China are up to this standard (and they will be) then they will be a great success.

The Pullman name derives from the opulent Pullman railway carriages that changed the face of overnight railway travel in America — and later in the UK and Europe from the 1860s. Pullman, specifically designed for business travelers, is the upscale portfolio brand of Accor.
Source: MB Publishing

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com

The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) and the U.S. Department of Commerce today announced that starting on June 17, 2008, Chinese leisure travelers may travel to the United States in group tours.

CNTA Chairman Shao Qiwei will lead the inaugural Chinese tour group on June 17 to Washington, D.C.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez said: ‘This memorandum of understanding opens China’s growing market to U.S. travel and tourism industries. Now, more Chinese visitors can experience America’s hospitality, cultural diversity, and natural beauty.

Increased visitation from China will boost overall visitation to the United States, strengthen the relationship between our nations, and forge new friendships between our peoples.’

By 2020, China will become the world’s fourth largest source of tourists.

On average, Chinese citizens spend more during their stay than visitors from other countries. In 2006, average per visitor spending by Chinese citizens traveling to the United States was more than $6,000.
Source: Shanghai Daily

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

The Lexington Collection of Hotels, Plaza Hotels, and Resorts Worldwide has opened the Lexington Plaza Zhuhai Zobon Hotel. The Lexington Plaza Zhuhai Zobon Hotel starts life with a five star rating by the Chinese National Tourism Bureau.

Located in Middle Lover’s Road — that appears to be a literal translation — in Zhuai province, the new hotel has 157 rooms.

It is unique with a black façade, which represents the contemporary architectural style of the region. It covers 16,000 square meters of prime real estate and has a 12-story structure and annex. There is, but of course, a health club and a beautiful indoor swimming pool.

The Lexington Plaza Zhuhai Zobon Hotel is a two-minute drive to Jiuzhou Port and 45 minutes to Zhuhai Airport, an hour from Hong Kong and Shenzhen and ten minutes to the island of Macau by ferry.
Source: Hotel Executive

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

The Tibet regional government rejected reports it has abandoned a plan to reopen the region to foreign tourists on May 1, saying it ‘will open soon’, without giving a specific date.The information office of the regional government said: ‘The Tibet tourism bureau is doing its utmost to prepare for the reopening of all scenic spots.’

It has been suggested the region will reopen to foreign and domestic tourists on May 1, a national holiday. A newspaper in Zhengzhou, Henan province, reported that train tickets to Lhasa have already sold out.

Authorities in Diqing Tibetan autonomous prefecture, Yunnan province, said last week the region had now reopened to foreign travelers.
Source: China Daily

author Gareth Powell, source www.chinaeconomicreview.com