Xu Muhan (left), executive director of China Travel International Investment HK Ltd, and Bo Baohua, deputy general manager of the company, speak at its annual result conference in Hong Kong Friday. Provided to China Daily

Longer Expo time frame, more diversified products bode well for tourism

China Travel International Investment HK Ltd, the Hong Kong-listed arm of China Travel Group, views 2010 Shanghai World Expo a better business prospect compared to the Olympics, considering its long-lasting effect and vast regional influence.

"We remain very optimistic towards the economic gain from the Shanghai Expo, which I believe will substantially overtake the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, as the Expo lasts much longer, and the abundant tourism resources around the host city enable us to designate more diversified tourism products," said executive director Xu Muhan at the press conference of the group's 2009 annual report Friday.

In comparison with the relatively limited tourism attractions outside Beijing, Xu said provinces surrounding Shanghai, such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui are always tourism hot spots. Tourists could attend the fairs and expositions in Shanghai and drop by to travel around nearby attractions conveniently.

"Expo's business impact to us will be comprehensive. All our tourism- related sectors will benefit from this international event," Xu added.

Bo Baohua, deputy general manager of the company said that in addition to the travel agency business, the group has engaged in vast tourism interrelated operations, such as scenic spots, hotel, resorts, passenger transportation and golf clubs. All of these sectors are expected to spur significant growth coupled with the boom in the travel sector following Expo's opening next month.

"The Shanghai Expo will last for 6 months, and I forecast the heat to continue in the next three years. We sold over HK$30 million of tickets in revenue during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and I expect more from the Expo, as we are the only authorized ticketing and sales agency for the Expo outside the mainland," said Bo.

Bo said the Expo tickets are selling rather well, and predicts the peak will occur in July and August, at the high season, when schools and students are also on their vacations.

Expo 2010, held from May 1 to October 31 in Shanghai this year, is likely to generate the largest number of visitors in the history of the world's fairs in terms of gross numbers. To achieve the target 70 million visitors including 3.5 million from overseas, Xu said his travel group, which is the biggest in China, will undoubtedly share the biggest part of the tourism pie, even though it posted a rather dismal performance for the previous year.

As for its 2009 results, China Travel's Hong Kong unit recorded HK$28 million net profit, down 94.7 percent from the year earlier. The negative macroeconomic climate and H1N1 swine flu caused the revenue decrease in travel agency and related operations, which slid by 7.3 percent to HK$2.3 billion in 2009. The group's revenues in scenic spots, hotel, resort, passenger transportation and golf clubs have all experienced confirmed losses in the past year.

Bo said the government's determination to foster the tourism industry as a strategic pillar industry of the national economy, as well as other favorable factors including the Shanghai Expo and Guangzhou Asian Games will significantly accelerate development of the tourism industry this year. He said that the group will allocate capital to develop new projects and upgrade existing facilities to maintain their product features and market appeal, and that it is also likely to forge ahead with mergers and acquisitions of tourism assets in the year, with no specific plan disclosed in the press conference.

China Daily

(HK Edition 04/10/2010 page2)