CNTA Announces Overseas Tourist Survey Results

Starting from March to July, 1998, the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) made a sample survey of the travel market among the major port cities, hotels catering to foreign tourists, pleasure boats on the Yangtze River and international travel services in a total of 100 units. The administration recently announced the results.

Among the 41,396 overseas tourists who participated in the survey, 64.9 percent of them are foreign tourists; 1.9 percent overseas Chinese; 29 percent Hong Kong inhabitants; 5.5 percent Macao inhabitants; and 10.8 percent Taiwan compatriots.

The survey shows that the average per capita spending of overseas tourists who stay at least one night in China reached US$856.77. Among the tourists' total expenditure, long-distance transportation fee accounted for 29.5 percent; sightseeing 3.1 percent; accommodation 15.9 percent; shopping 19.5 percent; telecommunications 3.7 percent; city transportation fee 2.4 percent and others 8.4 percent. On average, they spent US$133.87 a day. These travelers stayed an average of 6.4days in China, or 3.2 days in the major tourist cities. About 67.5 percent of the participants chose to stay in hotels when they were in China.

The average per capita expense of the one-day participants was US$31.36.

These tourists were mainly China's old hand and those who have been to China four times made up 50 percent of the total. Most prefer short tours, visiting one to three Chinese cities.

The average stay of tourists who came to China for a holiday, paying religious homage and cultural exchanges of science and technology is higher than for those who with other purposes.

The survey indicates that overseas tourists consider China's tourism service good. They were satisfied with hotel service, and 95.5 percent rated this above average. In addition, the approval rate for transportation was 72.4 percent. while other findings were: facilities at scenic spots (77 percent); cultural entertainment(77.2 percent); shopping (84.4 percent) and in tour guide service (84.4 percent) and in tour guide service (84.4 percent). They were not so happy with the hygiene of toilets, and less than 50 percent thought it above average.

Overseas tourists held that prices were reasonable. More precisely, they considered that tourism quality conformed with the quoted price (19.2 percent); basically conformed with (64.69 percent) did not conform (14.4 percent); and did not conform at all (1.8percent).

Kunming to Hold Costume Fair

To enrich cultural activities during the World Horticulture Expo'99, the Gardening Fair Bureau, its sponsor, decided to jointly hold China's Kunming Costume Fair July 22-26, with the China Costume Association and three other units.

The Kunming International Trade Center covers 190,000 square meters, and is capable of housing 1,800 standard exhibition halls and their auxiliary service facilities.

Being invited to the fair are professional exhibition organizers from China and abroad, related associations and famous clothing enterprise. While the fair is on, a large theatrical performance entitled Magnificent History of China's T-platform, will be organized with the fashion show as the main theme, in addition to symposiums on modernization and fashionability of Chinese national costume.

Qingdiao Opens New Scenic Spots

Qingdiao City Government in eastern China's Shandong Province has decided to reopen the Qindiao guest Hotel (former German official residence), St. Mary's Church, Christian Church and other national- and provincial-level cultural relics units with an aim of revealing their mysteries to the public.

Qingdiao Guest Hotel at the foot of the southern side of the beautiful Xinhao Mountains, was constructed between 1905 and 1908 on the site of the German official residence. As a typical architectural complex of the period, the building has been valued as a rare architectural example because of the special building materials it used and its good combination with the style favored by the young generation.

Construction of St. Mary's Catholic Church began in 1932 and was completed in 1934. After being closed down for several decades, it was reopened recently.

The Christian Church on the hills covered with evergreen trees was constructed in 1908 and its construction was finished in 1910. Being a typical German-style castle it comprises two parts, the bell tower and auditorium. The bright and spacious church can accommodate more than 1,000 people.

In recent years, the local government has made great efforts in rescuing and protecting cultural relics. The government has earmarked 15 million yuan to renovate the Tianhou Palace to turn it into a folklore museum, and another 120 million yuan to construct the city's cultural exhibition center and renovate a number of scenic spots for their reopening to visitors.

Qingdao cultural relics departments also put forward the proposal of building Shinan District into a tourist area dotted with a number of museums featuring European glamour and folklore.

Guangxi to Develop Tourist Products

Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is making efforts to develop ten tourist products with local features. These include the tour of Guilin rivers and mountains, vacations to Beihai Silver Beach, the beautiful scenery of south China's border areas,wonders in the Zhuang Township, folklore of the Yao, Tongxiang and Miao ethnic groups, search for antiques along the 1,000-year-old holy canal, discovery of the mysteries of the cliff paintings in the flower mountains, Jintian peasants uprising tour and tour exploring Bama longevity town.

Environmental Protection in Xinjiang

To protect the local environment and to beautify tourist areas, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Tourism Administration sponsored environmental protection volunteer activities to support China Ecotour'99.

This year the autonomous region tourism administration has prepared 300,000 environmental protection trash bags and distributed them to different bureaus at the prefectural and city-level. The bureaus at various levels also spread some knowledge of the importance in environmental protection with an aim of encouraging tourists to leave nothing behind but their footprints and carry away only the photographs they have taken.

there are 20 nature reserves in the autonomous region, with three belonging to the national level and 17 to the autonomous regional level. These nature reserves have retained the primitive ecology, serving as ideal destinations of ecological tours.

Tourism Service Better in Xi'an

Recently,tourism quality supervision and management departments in Xi'an City, the provincial capital of Shaanxi, made a general survey among tourists both at home and abroad. Results show that tourism services in the city were considered good in the first quarter of this year.

According to the survey, tourists were 100 percent happy with the tour guide services and the city's scenic spots; and with service of restaurants, entertainment and transportation at 96 percent. They claimed that hotel services were generally poor, while 6.3 percent were not satisfactory.

The tourism quality supervision department received 8 complaint letters in the first quarter, which was slightly higher than the same period of last year.