Brazilian and Chinese visitors led a resurgence in foreign tourism spending within the U.S. in the first half of the year, giving hope to domestic hoteliers, airline companies and others that the travel-spending slump of 2008 and 2009 is over, according to a report released Wednesday.
Foreign tourists spent about 20% more here during the first six months of 2010 than they did a year earlier, Visa (V) reported. American citizens also boosted their spending abroad, increasing travel purchases on their Visa cards by 9.3% compared to the same period in …

The world’s second biggest economy is attracting a lot of interest from hotels.
China, which recently overtook Japan as No. 2 on the world’s gross domestic product list behind the United States, is No. 1 as far as hotel development in the Asia/Pacific region goes, according to STR Global data.

Damien Little
director
Horwath HTL

As China’s economy has grown, so too has domestic travel, said Damien Little, director of Horwath HTL in Singapore. Plenty of stimulus money has been pumped into the Chinese economy, and the government has loosened some property-development regulations, which have …

Global business travel spending will increase 6.2 percent from a recession-depressed 2009, to $896 billion, according to a new report from the NBTA Foundation. Researchers expect the global figure to surpass the 2008 peak of $926 billion in 2011, with growth driven by strong trade conditions in Asia, healthy business travel volumes in the Middle East and Latin America, and double-digit business travel spending growth in several manufacturing sectors–offsetting continued weakness in Europe.
“At mid-year 2010, we have already seen many of the air and hotel indicators recovering more quickly than …

eLong Inc. (Nasdaq: LONG | PowerRating), a leading online travel agency, have made profits for six consecutive quarters since the first quarter of 2009 and its second-quarter operating profits are equivalent to the gross profits of last full year, disclosed its CEO Cui Guangfu.
Particularly, in the period, the sales growth of the hotel operations under eLong overtook that of archrival Ctrip.com International Ltd. (Nasdaq: CTRP | PowerRating), which hit 34%, for the first time since 2006, thanks to the former’s coverage of low-end hotels.
eLong has reached agreement with GreenTree Inn, according to which they …

PRESS RELEASE
August 5, 2010: TravelDaily (www.traveldaily.cn), China’s leading online publisher and event organizer with emphasis on the distribution, marketing and technology trends in the travel and tourism industries, today announced that it has welcomed Amadeus as a diamond sponsor for the 2010 China Travel Distribution Summit, to be held in Beijing on September 15-16.
Amadeus, a leading travel technology partner and transaction processor for the global travel and tourism industry, has proven its distribution technology can maximize revenues and increase efficiency for all sectors of the travel industry in Asia, including …

The number of Japanese entry visas issued to Chinese tourists has jumped 6.6-fold this month year-on-year after Tokyo eased entry requirements to attract more Chinese visitors, the Asahi Shimbun said Thursday.
Japan National Tourism Organization said a daily average of 378 tourist visas were issued to Chinese July 8-23, up from 57 over the same period last year.
On July 1, Japan relaxed visa rules by cutting the salary requirement to 60,000 yuan (8,848 U.S. dollars) or more per year for a Chinese to be eligible for a tourist visa, a significant …

South Korea will drastically ease visa restrictions for Chinese visitors who are becoming the major customers of its tourism market, the justice ministry said Tuesday.
From August 1 multiple-entry visas will be issued to employees of China’s top 500 companies, schoolteachers, pensioners, holders of various professional licences and graduates of prestigious colleges, it said.
The multiple-entry visa would allow them to enter South Korea freely for up to three years, the ministry said.
Currently it is offered only to people from advanced countries, owners of platinum or gold-class credit cards and professionals like …

A group of the best tourist destinations in Africa have gathered to launch the “China To Africa” Project (CTA)
Gambia, Tanzania and Cameroon are the three founding members of this initiative to increase the number of Chinese tourists coming to their countries, for both leisure and business trips.
As Africa is now a key continent for China in terms of business, trade and tourism, this initiative has been welcomed by the African and Chinese travel & tourism industry.
The CTA President, Mrs Françoise Kameni-Lele (Based in Yaounde, Cameroon), is a well know personality …

A leading Chinese Internet regulator has vowed to reduce anonymity in China’s portion of cyberspace, calling for requirements that people to use their real names when buying a mobile phone or going online, according to a human rights group.
In an address to the national legislature in April, Wang Chen, director of the State Council Information Office, called for perfecting the extensive system of censorship the government uses to manage the fast-evolving Internet, according to a text of the speech obtained by New York-based Human Rights in China.
China’s regime has a …

Colombia and China on Wednesday signed a “memorandum of understanding,” which the Andean nation hopes will encourage the arrival of more Chinese tourists to its shores.
The agreement, which was signed in Peking, makes Colombia an approved tourist destination for Chinese citizens and facilitate the entry of Chinese tourists into the country.
Although there are still obstacles in the way of maximizing the benefits from the agreement, such as no direct air link between the countries, Luis Guillermo Plata, the Colombian minister of commerce, industry and tourism predicted a “boost” in tourism.
“Colombia …

Colombia and China on Wednesday signed a “memorandum of understanding,” which the Andean nation hopes will encourage the arrival of more Chinese tourists to its shores.
The agreement, which was signed in Peking, makes Colombia an approved tourist destination for Chinese citizens and facilitate the entry of Chinese tourists into the country.
Although there are still obstacles in the way of maximizing the benefits from the agreement, such as no direct air link between the countries, Luis Guillermo Plata, the Colombian minister of commerce, industry and tourism predicted a “boost” in tourism.
“Colombia …

TravelDaily (www.traveldaily.cn), China’s leading online publisher and event organizer with emphasis on distribution, marketing and technology in the travel and tourism industries, announced today it will partner with PhoCusWright to host the 2010 China Travel Distribution Summit in Beijing from Sep. 15 to 16, 2010.
The China Travel Distribution Summit 2010 will bring together some of the world’s and China’s most influential travel industry leaders and executives to discuss core issues affecting travel.
“Despite a global downturn that has been impacting the world economy since late 2008, China remains the hotspot …

Standard Chartered Bank and China Unionpay (CUP) have announced an ATM alliance through which Standard Chartered’s global ATM network will provide ATM services to CUP cardholders in 20 countries and territories.
It is also a remarkable achievement for CUP’s internationalisation. The cooperation will provide payment convenience to CUP cardholders for their travel, business and study in Africa, Middle East and Asia.
Before 2009 CUP cardholders could withdraw cash and check account balance at SCB ATMs only in China and Hong Kong. Now these services have been extended to SCB ATMs in Kenya, …

The Justice Ministry plans to ease visa regulations for Chinese tourists to Korea, whose numbers have been soaring in recent years.
The ministry’s Immigration Office unveiled Thursday a set of measures to allow double visas and alleviate the prerequisites of multiple-entry visas for Chinese nationals. The new visa system is to take effect as early as mid-July after undergoing a two-day opinion survey conducted on visa officials and travel experts.
Elementary, middle and high school teachers, retired pensioners and graduates of prestigious universities will then be granted a multiple entry visa, with …

The Japanese government on Thursday relaxed visa rules applicable to Chinese nationals to encourage more tourists to visit and help boost the nation’s flagging retail sector.
In July 2009, Japan began granting individual tourist visas to Chinese nationals who earn 250,000 yuan (36,000 U.S. dollars) a year or more, but the conditions have been eased to encourage more Chinese people to choose Japan as their vacation destination spot. “Chinese middle-class families with certain income level and employment status can also make individual trips to Japan, without joining group tours,” Takahisa Kashiwagi, …

Agreement with China a Great Opportunity for Canada’s Tourism Industry

Ottawa, June 24, 2010 – With today’s official signing of the Approved Destination Status agreement with China, Canada’s tourism industry is now presented with an excellent opportunity for growth.

“This is a great day for tourism in Canada, and a great day for travelers from China,” said David Goldstein, President and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC). “This agreement will create a greater openness between our countries, allowing Chinese visitors greater access to all of Canada’s iconic attractions …

At the second Straits Forum in Fujian, a Taiwanese tour operator said visitors from the Chinese mainland will soon be allowed to travel to Taiwan, alone.
Currently, mainland visitors have to book through an agent and travel with a group.
Zeng Junxiong, Executive Director of China Straits Culture Tourism Assoc. said “By the end of the year, tourists from the mainland will be permitted to travel to Taiwan on their own. The new regulation will bring a new wave of mainland visitors to Taiwan. A platform like the Strait Forum attracts many …

Potential customers check tour information at a travel agency. Travel service websites are hot with a strong demand for tourism from residents. CHENG NING / FOR CHINA DAILY

Can foreign entrepreneurs successfully run Internet companies in China?
Yes, if you ask Fritz Demopoulos: “I don’t think I am an anomaly. What it takes to be successful in the Chinese market is the same stuff it takes to be successful in other markets. We forget that here.”
Anomaly or not, Demopoulous’ name is one that often comes up in Beijing’s tech circles as a …

CANBERRA, June 21 – Australian federal government on Monday announced spending of 30 million dollars (26.3 million U.S. dollars) on luring more Chinese tourists to Australia.
“China is expected to emerge as Australia’s number one source market for international visitors in the next few years,” Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said in a statement.
The government will stage a forum “in the near future” in Cairns of Queensland on boosting two-way tourism.
A key goal is to tempt more Chinese visitors, especially from regional areas, to north Queensland.
Tourism Australia’s “There’s Nothing Like Australia” …

Beijing – Millions of Chinese tourists will have greater security when they travel abroad after the State drew up guidelines for travel emergency assistance services, with the support of International SOS.
The document, expected to be released by the end of the year, will be especially useful to Chinese tourists who run into difficulties abroad, such as acute medical conditions or accidents.
“It will also help develop China’s booming travel industry by setting up and standardizing travel emergency assistance services on the part of stakeholders, including travel agencies and related organizations,” Zhu …