Hotels given energy slack to support tourism
By Liu Chang (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-07-07 02:20

Air conditioning facilities in Beijing's hotels will not be required to be shut off for one hour after they have run for two hours this summer, the municipal government has announced.

The former restrictive policy, which was adopted by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform late last month, was part of a series of local measures to ease the on-going electricity shortages in the capital city.

Beijing-based office buildings and department stores are also involved in restrictive air-conditioning policy moves.

But the mandates have received opposition from tourism industry insiders at home and abroad, sources within the hotel administrative department at the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Tourism say.

The bureau has received complaints from industry insiders such as the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, which claims the measure could have a negative impact on the number of tourists coming to Beijing this summer, the Beijing Times reported.

After the tourism authority negotiated with local electricity administrative organ, the Beijing municipal government decided not impose the compulsory restrictive policy upon hotels.

"If we adopt the measure, the tourism and hotel industries may sustain serious damage," a notice from the hotel administrative department said.

Sources further emphasized that the international image of Beijing hotels and even the capital city could be negatively influenced if all hotels turn off air-conditioning temporarily on such a frequent basis.

But the notice nonetheless required all hotels to be cognizant of the short supply of electricity this summer, and encouraged conservation.

Temperatures must be controlled to be no lower than 26 C within hotel rooms, and doors and windows are required to be opened and closed less frequently to save electricity.

All of the hotels are being told to draft energy-saving plans and to submit them to the tourism authority.

Inspections will be conducted in the near future and those who fail will be punished, officials said.

Electricity use in Beijing this summer will possibly hit its highest in history, officials are predicting. It is expected the volume will be 9.5 million kilowatts, 15 per cent higher than the figure recorded last year.

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