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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