Tourism Development Program in China - Essay Example

The Sleeping Giant Awakens: Chinas Booming Hospitality Industry Submitted by: Introduction According to the report of Ernst and Young, a highly reputed business advisory firm, the global hospitality industry remains as one the leading profit generators not only for private but also for public entities as well. Providing leisure, entertainment and accommodation remains a lucrative investment with outlook remaining positive according to the latest hospitality industry trends. This is due to the increasing availability and development of geographic regions such as Eastern Europe and Asian countries such as India and China. (Ernst and Young, 2006) Leading the fast growing market is China considering the richness of its heritage, geographical formations and the recent hype as it opened its doors to foreign investments. According to the China National Tourism Office (2007b), statistics show that China has one of the biggest inbound markets in Asia constituting almost 34 % of theregion's total tourist arrivals. Over the next decade, China will become the second largest travel and tourism industry inthe world, after the United States. The China tourism sector is expected to further improve as it continues to receive renewed support with relaxation of government regulation (CNTOa, 2007). China's emerging market is now seeing rapid developments as major international hotel companies are pushing to establish strong footholds in the region. Many top of the line hotel chains are already being constructed in preparation for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. (Zhang et al, 2005). Major foreign investments are pouring in every sector aside from tourism contributing to higher government revenues that provides further initiative and funds to develop and promote the rich cultural heritage of the country. China can now afford to set and meet higher standards in accommodation and other support systems. Indeed, it has developed from offering substandard services to one that is truly remarkable. The aim of this paper is to analyze the developments in hospitality industry in China. It therefore becomes necessary to provide information regarding the nature of the developments whether it has already been implemented or is still in the planning stage. I will also be providing details on the projects and initiatives, how they were implemented, who implemented them and provide a report on the current status of the project whenever possible. 2.0 On the Road to Success: China's Initiatives for the Hospitality Industry 2.1 10th Five-Year Plan Tourism Development Program The year 2000 saw a complete fulfillment of drawing up the Tourism Development Program for the 10th Five-Year Plan. Based on the work done in 1999, two forums on mapping out the Tourism Development Program for the 10th Five-Year Plan were respectively held in Nanjing and Harbin between January and February in 2000. The Nanjing Forum was attended by representatives from tourist departments in southeast China, while the Harbin Forum was attended by representatives from North China. By October 2000, the "China Tourism Development Program for the 10th Five-Year Plan and the Program Outline by the Years 2015 and 2020" had been already worked out. It reviews the achievements made in tourism industry and experiences gained in its development during the Ninth Five-Year Plan period, outlines the tourist development targets and major projects during the 10th Five-Year Plan, and systematically puts forward important strategic ideologies for realizing the grand blueprint. It is program of action which will guide China's tourism industry to make bigger development in the new century. (Wen and Tisdell, 2001) 2.2 Professional Management in Tourism Planning In line with the renewed efforts for the development of the hospitality sector, more efforts were made to strengthen professional management of tourism planning, accelerate the process of legislation construction in tourism planning, and give more technological and policy guidance on local tourism planning. Based on modification of the "Temporary Methods on Management of Tourism Development Planning" issued in 1999, the revised "Methods on Management of Tourism Development Planning" was issued on October 26, 2000. It was followed by the formal publication of the "Temporary Methods for Qualification Authentication on Design Units for Tourism Planning" on November 22, 2006. Currently, new progress was made in guiding and standardizing the professional management in tourism planning, as well as in cooperation with international partners in the field. On more than 20 occasions, China National Tourism Office (CNTO) participated in the organization, mapping out and evaluation of key regional tourism planning in the country. Centering around the western development strategy and in view of different situations, the administration gave guidance and helps to middle and western regions in development of tourist resources and tourism planning. (CNTO 2007a) 2.3 Classification and Evaluation of Tourist Areas (Spots) From year 2000-2005, the work of classification and evaluation of tourist areas and spots got essential results, and the work on tourism quality had made important breakthroughs. The work on classification and evaluation of tourist areas (spots) was unfolded in 31 provinces (regions and municipalities) throughout the country. The work for classification and evaluation of 215 4A-class candidate tourist areas in 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) was conducted smoothly. A first group of 187 tourist areas (spots) won the honour of 4A. (China Tourism E-News, 2007) 2.4 Tourist Investment The State brought the construction of tourist infrastructures in line with the state debt investment plan. The State had allocated state debt funds of 1.3 billion yuan to 113 projects in 30 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) and five cities listed independently in the State plan from 2000-2006. According to the document entitled "Methods for Management of Special Investment Projects Related to Development of Tourist Resources and Protection of Natural Eco-Environment" jointly issued by CNTA and the State Development Planning Commission, special funds of 61 million yuan in 2000 were allocated to 11 provinces and autonomous regions in middle and western regions. 2.5 Attracting Foreign Firms and Using Foreign Capital The Chinese Tourist Delegation, composed of representatives of CNTA and the State Development Planning Commission, participated in the 2000 Fourth China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) bringing with it 211 tourist projects, of which, there were 97 projects for scenic areas, 13 for accommodation facilities, 82 for modern entertainment, involving a total investment of US$ 4.28 billion. The agreements of investment, involving 110 tourist projects, were concluded with domestic and foreign business people, with negotiated funds reaching US$ 1.3 billion. 77 priority investment projects were introduced by CNTA, of which, there were 53 projects in middle and western regions, with construction funds of 861 million yuan allocated by the State financial plan. Most of the projects have been completed by the year 2006. 2.6 Unified Service Etiquette Standard In October 2007, the China Tourist Hotel Association has made known to the public the creation of a new criterion entitled, "Chinese Hospitality Industry Service Etiquette Criterion (Trial)", which details practical training standards for the regulation of the service etiquette of China's hospitality industry and creation of a civilized and professional hospitality image. According to CTHA Based on extensive investigation and research, it has reportedly not only summarized the experience of China's hospitality industry, but also drawn lessons from the success of renowned international hotel groups. It consists of 30 chapters and a total of 174 clauses. The new rule has four main characteristics of wide applicability, emphasis on the training of aesthetic feeling of operation service, high pertinence to the present times and embodiment of harmony in serving clients. It is applicable for hotels of different types, sizes, classes and management styles. It trains hotel staff how to bring pleasure and sensual aesthetics to guests through the way they speak and behave. In addition, hotel staff will better serve the clients during the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and 2010 Shanghai Expo. The rule also focuses on giving full respect to clients and attaches much importance to the communication between a hotel and its clients instead of mechanically serving them. It is expected that an overall harmony within a hotel can be created through the harmonious service offered by the hotel staff with this new standard. (BDL Media, 2007) 2.8 Green Hotel Initiative China has been receiving negative public perception due to its disregard of the environment. To counter this negative perception, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and other government departments have pledged in 2006 to draft a nationwide standard on "green hotels". The standard expects 10,000 environmentally friendly hotels by 2010 as part of effort to improve ecological awareness in the hospitality industry. The result of this pledge is the Green Hotel Standard and was sponsored by the China National Tourism Administration. However, the China Hotels Association has already its own version of industry standard of green hotels as early as 2003. According to the standard, green hotels should not only provide safe rooms and healthy food, but also conserve energy and be environmentally friendly. There are currently more than 300 hotels that have come under the classification. As a result, many existing green hotels have themselves called for improvements in current energy-saving technologies and facilities. Statistics with the China Hotels Association show that there are more than 200,000 hotels on the Chinese mainland. Distinctions were given to those who have complied with the green hotel concept. In March 2007, the first batch of seven hotels in Guangxi has been awarded the "Gold Leaf Green Hotel" title to recognize their overall sustainability practices. According to the Green Hotel Standard created by the China National Tourism Administration, there are two levels of Green Hotels: Silver Leaf and Gold Leaf. The standard for Gold Leaf Green Hotel requires, among other things, that the gauges for water, gas and electricity in the hotel be fixed at different areas of the hotel, the hotels do not use wild and protected animals to make food and that there is no serious pollution from the hotel in the year. Besides from this, hotels were also evaluated with respect to their overall design, available green products, service, trash management, environmental protection, energy resource management, material costs, and water saving were considered during the assessment. 2.9 Special Fund for Compulsory Education To help the hotel industry grow, it needs to have enough people and the right people, because the industry is all about people serving people. The problem is that as the need for hotel personnel is increasing, the pool of experienced hospitality experts is diminishing. Hospitality schools in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are currently unable to furnish the need of the industry which includes experienced mid-level management, experienced housemaids, room attendants, chefs and staff. By the end of 2000, China had a total of 5.6415 million people engaged directly in the tourism industry, an increase of 10.2%, and for those who were indirectly engaged in the industry totalled 28 million. China had a total of 1,195 tourism colleges and schools, with a total of 327,938 students. Among them, there were 252 colleges (including those with tourism departments or offering tourist specialty courses), with 73,586 students, and 943 secondary tourism vocational schools, with 254,352 students. Out of 252 tourism colleges and universities, 96 offer tourism management courses, accounting for 38%. By 2006, about 782,634 employees in the tourism industry received various training programs of different levels, including the on-the-job qualification training for administrative personnel, professional ranking training for technical workers, adaptation training, overseas training and adult schooling training. Among the trainees, 555,334 were from tourist hotels, 167,775 from travel agencies, 19,790 from tourist bus and shipping companies, 12,626 from tourist administrative departments, 27,109 from other personnel.(China Hospitality News, 2007) Gao Xuegui, director of the Illiteracy Elimination Division of the Ministry of Education, has disclosed to local media in November 2007 that China's central finance department has allocated RMB18.1 billion this year for the country's compulsory education sector. In addition, up to 150 million students in the country have been exempt from paying the tuition and incidental expenses for their compulsory education. This would provide for more people entering the tourism sector as skilled professionals.(BDL Media, 2007) 2.10 Qualification Authentication and Examinations A total of 9,138 persons all over the country took part in the qualification authentication for managers of travel agencies in 2000, and 6,528 received the certificates. Among them, 470 persons were exempt from the examination, and 6,058 passed the examination. Some 953 persons took the general manager qualification certificates of international travel service; 1,365 received the department manager qualification certificates of international travel service; 2,429 persons took the general manager qualification certificates of domestic travel service, and 1,781 took the department manager qualification certificates of domestic travel service. To improve the examination of tourist guides in a scientific way, and accelerate the pace of construction of the contingent of tourist guides, CNTO issued the "Suggestions on Reform the Qualification Examination of Tourist Guides, Professional Ranking Examination and the Manager Authentication Work of Travel Agencies." It also implemented the G-TELP, a system for China's hotel vocational English standardized training and tests and was introduced to various places in the country. (CNTO, 2007a) 3.0 Development in Support/Transportation Systems 3.1 Civil Aviation At the beginning of the year 2000, officials and workers of civil aviation earnestly implemented important instructions given by leaders of the CPC Central Committee and realized general requirements for the work of civil aviation, with focus on emphasis on management and quality. As a result, safety has been kept stable, and aviation transport kept steadily growing. The whole year saw a total transportation turnover volume of 12,250.07 million ton-km, a rise of 15.4%. The domestic transportation turnover volume reached 7,598.18 million tons km, of which Hong Kong and Macao took 568.79 million ton-km, and the international air transportation turnover volume amounted to 4,651.9 million ton-km. Of the 25 key projects set by civil aviation, those related to airport construction included Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport, renovation of western runway of Beijing Capital Airport, transformation of flying area of Xining Caojiabao Airport, and expansion projects of Changsha Huanghua Airport, Chongqing Jiangbei Airport and Dalian Zhoushuizi Airport, which were completed and put into operation in 2000. New aviation systematic project in western region was basically completed and succeeded in trial fight. In 2000, all sectors of aviation earnestly carried out related regulations to guarantee normal flights, with emphasis on the plan for scheduled flights and attention attached to operation and safety. As a result normal flights were basically guaranteed. ( Lew et al, 2005) 3.2 Railways The construction of railways continued to keep a favourable trend for development, with 48 large and medium-sized projects going smoothly. By 2005, the railway industry fulfilled combined investment of 51.74 billion yuan, of which, the Ministry of Railways completed 44.64 billion yuan; municipalities and enterprises fulfilled 5.37 billion yuan. Local railways were built in 2000, involving 1.73 billion yuan. (CRI, 2007) 3.3 Highways The total volume of highways continued to increase by a big margin; the technical structure of highways has been further improved, and the grading of road surface has been further raised. By the end of 2005, the total mileage of highways reached 1.4027 million km, an increase of 51,000km; the graded highways accounted for 86.69% of the total highway length, up 1.1%; the highways with road surface reached 1.323 million km, making up 94.3% of the total mileage, a rise of 0.5%. There was also a rapid development of expressways, with the total mileage taking the third place in the world, and increased length reaching 4,709km. At present, expressways are available in 28 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) throughout the country, of which, six provinces have expressways each exceeding 1,000km. (Lew et al, 2003) 3.4 Waterway The latest data of total length (2002) of inland waterways throughout the country came to 119000km, with graded waterways reaching 61,400km and accounting for 51.4% of the total mileage. In 2000, a total investment of 13.48 billion yuan in the construction of waterways was fulfilled. (Lew et al, 2003) 4.0 Conclusion As we can see, there is a burst in development projects for the improvement of services offered by the hospitality industry. The pace is not expected to decrease as two major factors, the 2008 summer Olympics and the Shanghai 2010 Expo, are causing rapid increase in inbound tourism. References: BDL Media (2007). Chinese Hospitality Industry Faces Unified Service Etiquette Standard. BDL Media Publications: Shanghai China Hospitality News.Com (2007). Industry News. Retrieved November 21, 2007 from http://www.chinahospitalitynews.com/category/industry-news/ China National Tourist Office (2007a). Certified China Specialist Program. CNTO Publishing: China China National Tourist Office (2007b). China Tourism Statistics. CNTO Publishing: China China China Tourism E-News (2007). Latest Tourism Developments in China. Retrieved November 21, 2007 from http://www.china-enews.com/ CRIEnglish.com (2007). Chinese Railways to Speed Up. 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