Capital plans for more hotel rooms
( 2003-11-14 23:10) (China Daily)
In anticipation of a soaring
increase in tourist numbers for the 2008 Olympics, the Chinese capital is
stepping up the speed of hotel construction by 7 per cent annually, in terms of
guest rooms.
More than 800,000 foreigners are expected to visit Beijing during the 2008
summer games, and the city needs 230 more star-graded hotels to meet the huge
demand, according to the city's tourism bureau.
Most of the new hotels will involve the renovation of old hostels and
training centres, which are usually affiliated with governmental institutions or
State-owned enterprises.
"In addition to upgrading the actual buildings, these accommodation
facilities must also update their management and service efficiency,'' said Yu
Debin, vice-director of the bureau, at a two-day international forum on the
hotel industry which opened on Friday in Beijing.
"Private investors are also being invited to invest in the renovation of the
old-style travel accommodation facilities,'' Yu said.
"Actually, we are encouraging more State-owned hotels, even those with star
grades, to get involved in private capital and diversified ownership to become
more competitive in the new market-orientated economy.''
There are currently 576 star-ranked hotels in Beijing, of which only 60 are
foreign-invested joint ventures. However, these foreign-invested hotels account
for 56 per cent of the total revenue of the city's hotel industry, according to
Yu.
Wei Xiao'an, a professor with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said
"Domestic hotels need to reform and integrate current practices in the
hospitality industry with their own special features in order to compete with
their foreign counterparts.''
|
