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Local tourism reaps Expo rewards
By Xu Wenwen |
November 3, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE World Expo Shanghai is over so now is the time to look at what benefits it has brought. One obvious winner from its Expo presence is the Hangzhou tourism industry, as Xu Wenwen discovers.
When Zhang Jianting, vice mayor of Hangzhou and director of the Hangzhou Case Pavilion, turned off the power at his pavilion at the end of the World Expo Shanghai, the pavilion's work was done.
Receiving 1.45 million visitors and distributing 120,000 Hangzhou tourism coupon books during 184 days was the pavilion's main achievements.
So what exactly did the 184-day-long gala bring Hangzhou, a city 200 kilometers from Shanghai?
"Popularity and reputation!" Wang Xinzhang, deputy director of Hangzhou Tourism Commission, gave as his answer.
It was estimated that more than one-third of Expo visitors travelled to nearby cities, and in a survey conducted by the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, Hangzhou, among all the cities in the Yangtze River Delta region, was the first choice for visitors.
"Our hotel's occupancy rate has been up to 85 percent since May," said Lu Yuan, operations manager of Elan Inn Hangzhou, a budget hotel. The boom even extended to the latter part of October, when "the occupancy rate even reached full house during weekdays."
Higher-end hotels also benefit from the army of Expo visitors.
Last month, the World Expo 2010 forum on Harmonious Cities and Livable Life opened in the Dragon Hotel Hangzhou, with almost 700 guests from nearly 70 countries and regions attending.
"The large-scale forum has much promoted the hotel brand," said Antonia Pao, director of communication of the Dragon Hotel Hangzhou.
"During the Expo, many Shanghai companies came to Hangzhou to hold conferences, greatly facilitating Hangzhou's hotel conference and exhibition industry," she added.
As for the latest figures, from January to September this year, international visitors spent an average of 3.13 days at Hangzhou per capita, 0.13 days higher than the same period last year.
China Travel Service Zhejiang, the designated travel agency authorized to sell Expo tickets, sold 860,000 tickets in the past six months.
"The World Expo brought us unprecedented opportunities," said Chen Anxin, marketing supervisor of China Travel Service Zhejiang. "It has influenced Hangzhou and even east China's tourism."
The influence has been more than selling Expo tickets, said Chen. Because the Expo boosted tourism in east China, the agency has cooperated with many travel agencies outside of Yangtze River Delta, and therefore raised its popularity.
Chen suggested that travel agencies design new tour routes in the post-Expo period.
Besides designated agencies, others have found increased business opportunities as well.
Hangzhou International Travel Agency has taken 60,000 visitors to the Expo, and "the domestic travel agencies experienced a half-year-long boom season," said Han Jun, operations supervisor of the agency.
Han said the Expo business was so good that at the opening of the event, some agencies had to decline customers because they weren't able to cope with the number of tourists since tour guides, cars and hotels in Shanghai were in short supply.
But even now the Expo is over, its influence still carries on.
At Hangzhou's most well-known West Lake, tourist boats depart every 20 minutes to carry tourists around the lake.
However, at the beginning of the Expo, the boats departed every 40 minutes. The schedule has been changed since there were so many travellers, many of whom held Hangzhou tourism coupons which allow 20 yuan (US$2.99) off the price of the boat ticket.
According to the West Lake Scenic Spot Management Committee, from June to September, the number of tourists to Linyin Temple and Yuefei Temple increased 57 percent and 44 percent against the same period last year.
The boom has continued even after October's golden week, usually the busiest period for the Chinese tourism market.
Last month, the Songcheng Theme Park that showcases Song Dynasty (960-1279) culture received 20,000 visitors everyday, as much as they received in the golden week, and the figure is more than 60 percent higher than the same period last year.
Though the grand event is over in Shanghai, Hangzhou is going to hold its own gala, the three-month-long Second World Leisure Expo next year. Last month, some agreements were signed in preparation for the event.
When Zhang Jianting, vice mayor of Hangzhou and director of the Hangzhou Case Pavilion, turned off the power at his pavilion at the end of the World Expo Shanghai, the pavilion's work was done.
Receiving 1.45 million visitors and distributing 120,000 Hangzhou tourism coupon books during 184 days was the pavilion's main achievements.
So what exactly did the 184-day-long gala bring Hangzhou, a city 200 kilometers from Shanghai?
"Popularity and reputation!" Wang Xinzhang, deputy director of Hangzhou Tourism Commission, gave as his answer.
It was estimated that more than one-third of Expo visitors travelled to nearby cities, and in a survey conducted by the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, Hangzhou, among all the cities in the Yangtze River Delta region, was the first choice for visitors.
"Our hotel's occupancy rate has been up to 85 percent since May," said Lu Yuan, operations manager of Elan Inn Hangzhou, a budget hotel. The boom even extended to the latter part of October, when "the occupancy rate even reached full house during weekdays."
Higher-end hotels also benefit from the army of Expo visitors.
Last month, the World Expo 2010 forum on Harmonious Cities and Livable Life opened in the Dragon Hotel Hangzhou, with almost 700 guests from nearly 70 countries and regions attending.
"The large-scale forum has much promoted the hotel brand," said Antonia Pao, director of communication of the Dragon Hotel Hangzhou.
"During the Expo, many Shanghai companies came to Hangzhou to hold conferences, greatly facilitating Hangzhou's hotel conference and exhibition industry," she added.
As for the latest figures, from January to September this year, international visitors spent an average of 3.13 days at Hangzhou per capita, 0.13 days higher than the same period last year.
China Travel Service Zhejiang, the designated travel agency authorized to sell Expo tickets, sold 860,000 tickets in the past six months.
"The World Expo brought us unprecedented opportunities," said Chen Anxin, marketing supervisor of China Travel Service Zhejiang. "It has influenced Hangzhou and even east China's tourism."
The influence has been more than selling Expo tickets, said Chen. Because the Expo boosted tourism in east China, the agency has cooperated with many travel agencies outside of Yangtze River Delta, and therefore raised its popularity.
Chen suggested that travel agencies design new tour routes in the post-Expo period.
Besides designated agencies, others have found increased business opportunities as well.
Hangzhou International Travel Agency has taken 60,000 visitors to the Expo, and "the domestic travel agencies experienced a half-year-long boom season," said Han Jun, operations supervisor of the agency.
Han said the Expo business was so good that at the opening of the event, some agencies had to decline customers because they weren't able to cope with the number of tourists since tour guides, cars and hotels in Shanghai were in short supply.
But even now the Expo is over, its influence still carries on.
At Hangzhou's most well-known West Lake, tourist boats depart every 20 minutes to carry tourists around the lake.
However, at the beginning of the Expo, the boats departed every 40 minutes. The schedule has been changed since there were so many travellers, many of whom held Hangzhou tourism coupons which allow 20 yuan (US$2.99) off the price of the boat ticket.
According to the West Lake Scenic Spot Management Committee, from June to September, the number of tourists to Linyin Temple and Yuefei Temple increased 57 percent and 44 percent against the same period last year.
The boom has continued even after October's golden week, usually the busiest period for the Chinese tourism market.
Last month, the Songcheng Theme Park that showcases Song Dynasty (960-1279) culture received 20,000 visitors everyday, as much as they received in the golden week, and the figure is more than 60 percent higher than the same period last year.
Though the grand event is over in Shanghai, Hangzhou is going to hold its own gala, the three-month-long Second World Leisure Expo next year. Last month, some agreements were signed in preparation for the event.
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