The Olympics Games are a great boost to the Chinese Tourism industry. It not only lures people interested in sports but it also serves as a giant marketing campaign. The country is promoting its tourism destinations for some time and now thanks to the Olympics almost everyone knows at least something about the country.
Chinese officials have committed themselves to secure safe Games and so they do. Numerous measures have been taken to prevent possible terrorist or other threat. Even though it causes some inconvenience, it seems to be working. They have greatly improved the Beijing’s infrastructure. Number of star rated hotels has increased significantly. Now, they provide some 130,000 rooms and more than 250,000 beds. Among the newly created services for tourists is e.g. the Beijing tourism information website. There are 56 Olympics city information booths across the city and a travel service hotline 12301 has been established to help the tourists.
Also, the infrastructure in the co-hosting cities has improved. For example the city of Tianjin has invested approximately 1 billion yuan in renovating the city. The city’s tourism board is promoting its tourism in other cities. Tianjin is connected with Beijing by an inter-city train therefore it takes only half an hour to travel between the two cities. As Tianjin offers cheaper eating facilities and accommodation it may become an interesting place for numerous visitors.
Beijing itself expects 400,000 to 500,000 overseas tourists during the Games. The whole country should receive approximately 6 million international visitors during the Olympic period. The Olympic boost should considerably help to increase the number of tourists coming to China. There are numerous cultural heritage sites as well as natural beauties in the country and the new Olympics venues will certainly lure numerous visitors. There is for example the Beijing National Stadium called the Bird"s Nest or the newly build aquatics center known as Water Cube.
