1. Tourism and Hotel Development in China
Tourism and Hotel Development in China: From Political to Economic Success is a comprehensive guide to the development of the tourism industry in Mainland China following the end of the Cultural Revolution. Conceived as a textbook but equally valuable as a professional resource for consultants, researchers, and tourist organizations, this insightful book tracks the unique circumstances that sparked the growth of China’s tourism and hotel industry from a political, diplomatic activity to a burgeoning economic industry. The book includes background information on geography, culture, …

Two seemingly unrelated but notable events took place on July 24th in China. In the morning, the official news agency Xinhua published an article titled “Ten Suggestions for Local Governments on How to Respond to Internet Opinion.” In a commanding tone, the article argued that local governments should release information early, “reporting facts fast, reporting causes with caution.” Crisis management is actually “crisis communication management,” it asserted. It cites that the “open government information regulations” require “being open as the principle, not being open as an exception.”
The call to “tell …

The China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) has just published their mid-year statistical survey report on the Internet Development in China:

The Number of Chinese Netizens increased by over 40 Mil during the first half of 2009, representing a 13.4% growth rate compared to 2008. By June 30 2009 the total number of Chinese Internet Users has reached 338 Million, which represents a penetration rate of 25.5%

320 Mil (or 94.3%) of all online users have broadband access

155 Mil (or 45.9% of all netizens) use their mobile devices to go online. In the first …

According to China Express, the South African Embassy now allows Chinese tourists to visit South Africa on individual tourist visas.
Tourists can go directly to the South African Embassy to apply for individual tourist visas instead applying of via travel agencies, which allows tourists to arrange their own schedules. The tourist visa costs CNY560 and will take five working days to issue.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup is attracting more and more people to visit the rainbow nation. The individual tourist visa for South Africa will offer great convenience to tourists. Chinese …

Fanfou (饭否), Digu (嘀咕), Zuosa (做啥) and Jiwai (叽歪) are all down it seems. Only Tencent’s Taotao (滔滔) has not been affected for the moment.
Twitter is blocked in mainland China. Fanfou (饭否), a local microblog platform, was taken offline in the week after the Urumqi riots.
Now two other microblogs have become inaccessible. Digu (嘀咕), where many Fanfou users migrated, is currently “upgrading its servers,” as is Zuosa (做啥), after a morning of being completely unreachable.
That leaves Jiwai (叽歪), whose users are chatting about the latest developments and wondering when the axe …

Mergers and Acquisition a Likely Trend in Second Half
The Olympic Games didn’t bring in the expected turnover for the hotel industry. According to statistics, during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 5-star hotels in Beijing witnessed a 2.3% decline in occupancy over the same period last year, while Shanghai saw a 10.4% decline. Due to the financial crisis, hotels nationwide suffered further occupancy drop and drastically reduced prices in 2009.
So why did hotel occupancy drop amid the good wind of the Olympics? It’s not because tourists are scarce, but rather, because most …

The China Tourist Office of the Egyptian Embassy has announced four self-drive routes for Chinese tourists.
The four routes are self drive holiday trips for around the Red Sea and Mediterranean, a luxury trip for the whole of Egypt including the Sinai Peninsula, a popular route for all of Egypt including the Sahara, and a recreation trip combining self drive in Egypt and a luxury cruise on the Nile. Of the four specially selected routes, the longest will take 18 days and the shortest will only take eight days.
However tourists will …

However, consumer opinions posted online and brand sponsorships also scored highly
Recommendations by personal acquaintances and brand websites are the most trusted forms of advertising in China, according to the latest twice-yearly Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey of over 25,000 Internet consumers from 50 markets.
The Nielsen survey, the largest of its kind, shows that more than nine in every ten Internet consumers in China (91 percent) trust recommendations from people they know, whilst over eight in every ten (82 percent) trust a brand’s website. In this new age of consumer control, …

To encourage more Chinese to visit the country, South Korea’s Ministry of Justice has announced that it will reduce the number of documents that Chinese tourists need to submit for visa applications.
According to the new rules, Chinese citizens now only need to submit credit card statements for the last six months or a copy of an active bank account, and proof of ownership of either a vehicle or real estate or certificate of income. Owners of exclusive credit cards, such as gold or platinum cards, only need to submit credit …

The Italian Tourism Board has formally launched a Chinese language website to bridge its communication with Chinese tourists.
Apart from providing diversified travel information, the website also offers links to various databases and enables Chinese tourists to easily book hotels and transportation before they leave for traveling in Italy. Chinese travel agents can also make use of this useful tools to provide practical information for tourists.
The Italian Tourism Board hopes to learn about Chinese tourists’ demand and listen to their comments and opinions through this website which is expected to serve …

The region’s leading luxury travel event celebrates a successful third year in Shanghai, despite economic downturn
Asia Luxury Travel Market, the region’s leading event exclusively for the luxury travel industry, took place in Shanghai from 15th – 18th June for the third consecutive year, with exhibitors describing it as “the best yet”.
The three day event brought together the top 300 Asian luxury travel buyers from 19 countries, close to 280 exhibitors from 36 countries and over 100 media from 11 countries.
The world’s most sought after destinations, ultra-luxurious accommodation, resorts and spas, …

Beijing’s recent rapid hotel growth contributed to a huge occupancy rate drop last year–the biggest of any major global city between November 2007 and November 2008, according to STR Global. Average occupancy in China’s capital during that period declined 32 percent, dipping just below the 50 percent mark.
While Beijing’s high-end hotel market may be an example of over-development run amok, the travel industry as a whole is a different story.
“If you look at its overall development, the Chinese travel market is still growing quite strongly despite the economic downturn,” said William …

Beijing’s recent rapid hotel growth contributed to a huge occupancy rate drop last year – the biggest of any major global city between November 2007 and November 2008. (According to STR Global)
Average occupancy in China’s capital during that period declined 32 percent, dipping just below the 50 percent mark.
While Beijing’s high-end hotel market may be an example of over-development run amok, the travel industry as a whole is a different story.
Source: TravelDaily.cn (July 1, 2009)
“If you look at its overall development, the Chinese travel market is still growing quite strongly …

If there were just a few things that China has wholly embraced from the West, it would be their love for Kentucky Fried Chicken, or KFC as it is more commonly known. In 1987, the fast-food operator opened its first outlet near Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Then came 2,000 other outlets, which sprung up across China within the next 20 years – a phenomenal achievement by any standard.
The improbable success of KFC China can be attributed to a few key ingredients: context, people, strategy and execution, so says Warren Liu, a …