[photopress:hotels_Beijing_expo1.jpg,full,alignright]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.
[photopress:hotels_Beijing_expo2.jpg,full,alignleft]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