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BEIJING—The Olympics are keeping Beijingers home, thus
weighing down the domestic outbound tourism industry.
“The
outbound sector saw a slight increase [in domestic
tourism] in July, but this August, it is down by 30
percent [compared with the same month last year],” said
Lin Kang, deputy general manager of the outbound
department of China International Travel Service (CITS).
July and
August are normally the peak months for outbound travel,
Lin told the China Daily on Monday.
In
Shanghai, the National Business Daily reported that a
number of small-scale travel agencies have organized a
mere two or three overseas travel groups this month.
These
are attributable to the Olympic fever, added Lin.
“Many
customers canceled their plans to travel in favor of
working as volunteers or simply staying home to watch
the Games,” he said. There are also other reasons, Lin
said, such as reduced number of tickets, fewer business
travelers and the depressed stock market.
Several
airlines have reserved seats on international flights
for Olympic officials and athletes and the international
media, thus cutting what is available in the market.
The 29th
edition of the Games here has gathered together 205
national Olympic committees (countries). Attendance is
pegged at 10,694 athletes, 5,500 national team coaches
and officials, 2,294 referees and judges, and 21,600
media people. The Games started on Friday and will end
August 26.
Besides
Beijing, the other Olympic venues are the coastal city
of Qingdao (two hours flight from the capital), which
hosts sailing, and Hong Kong, where the equestrian
competitions are being staged.
Officials and workers of state-owned companies and
government agencies have also been advised against
leaving Beijing to help ensure the success of the
Olympics. They are considered as major consumers of
incentive tours and business trips.
The
Olympics have also resulted in price cuts on domestic
flights. An air-ticket manager from a local online
travel firm said the opening ceremony—considered as the
best in Olympics history—triggered price cuts, which
were pegged at between 10 percent and 30 percent.
This
week industry experts here said the cuts could reach 60
percent.
With the
local outbound tourism industry down came an automatic
reduction in domestic package tours. Price cuts reached
as much as 50 percent, even in popular local destination
spots Yunnan and Hainan. |
