China to open a visa consulate in Kolkata

Talking to TravelBiz Monitor, Wang Xiang Yun (Alice), Deputy Director, China National Tourist Office (CNTO), says, “China is going to open a consulate office in Kolkata by April. However, the exact date has not yet been finalised.”

A direct flight had been started by China Eastern Airlines from Kolkata to Kunming. Thus, a large number of travellers were expected in the Yunan province. However, travellers had to travel to Mumbai or New Delhi, in order to acquire Visas. In order to solve this problem, China decided to open a consulate office in Kolkata.

Railway travel hits another peak

The Spring Festival may have ended officially for most of us, but for China's railway authorities, it's not over just yet. They're gearing up for another wave of peak travel as students and workers journey back to study or work after the Festival.

Volumes are expected to peak on Friday as well as over the weekend, as millions of students, workers return from around the country after a month-long holiday. Passenger levels on trains are expected to hit around 4.6 million on Friday, a spike of around 300,000 people from the day before.

HKCTS Plans To Expand Tourism Business In Mainland China

The group aims to set up 500 tour outlets around mainland China by 2010. The merger of HKCTS and CTS last July has extended the HKCTS network and made its hotel services more competitive. Its business scope includes hotels, travel agencies, scenic spots, theme parks, resort areas, and online travel services. The group has six wholly-owned subsidiaries and its total assets have increased from RMB32 billion to RMB35 billion while its net assets are up from RMB15 billion to RMB17 billion. Its forecast sales revenue has been adjusted from RMB26 billion to RMB29 billion.

Cross-Cultural China Travel

This forthcoming August, San Diego State University-Imperial Valley Campus will sponsor a special program to study cross-cultural communication through language study in China.

General Studies 410, for 2 semester units, will take students to Shanghai to attend the 18th World Congress of the International Federation of Translators as well as on cultural tours to Beijing, Xi’an and the Great China Wall.

Lingering freezing weather dampens China's Spring Festival tourism

About 50 percent of Beijing tourists for instance have cancelled their vacation plans to southern China, Zhang said, adding that travel agencies were estimated to earn 70 percent less from long-range domestic tours this Spring Festival than last year's same period.

A good news from the coordination office for national holiday tourism under the NTA, however, is the prevalence of temple fairs and other celebrations featuring folklore and custom.

Robust outlook for China's tourism sector

The report says six key themes will affect China's travel sector in the near and mid-term, including robust demand, competition, deregulation and consolidation in the sector, infrastructure and operations upgrades, expansion into second-tier cities and fuel prices, as well as the impact of a possible slowdown in the US and global economies:

Snow brings China travel chaos

Around 500,000 travellers have been stranded at the main train station in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou after heavy snows cut rail links with much of the rest of the country.

The cancellations come as China's transport network gears up for the busiest travel period of the year over the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.