The new rules require companies to provide proof of hotel reservations, airline tickets, and specific contact information for the entity the American firm is doing business with, said Defa Tong, spokesman for the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco. In some cases, business travelers seeking visas will be required to go to the consulate for an interview.
Homestay families will preliminarily charge guests between 400 and 600 yuan per day, and then according to some specifics such type of room and whether the stay includes breakfast, so that the final price is based on an agreement.
The China International Travel Service Head Office (CITS) and the China Travel Service Head Office (CTS) are responsible for propagating information and organizing the reception of foreign visitor groups for "Olympic Homestays." Tourists who live in with "Olympic Homestays" will be part of a tour group which visits Olympic venues; purchases Olympic souvenirs; and dines on local cuisine. At present, travel agents are bidding for 2008 Olympic tickets in hopes of including Olympic competitions as part of their packaged tour, said Zhao Xin, director of the Olympics Service Center of the China International Travel Service's Head Office.
The tomb-sweeping day is just two days away. The first 3 day break after the national holiday system was revised would seem to be a good business opportunity for travel agencies, however, many say the travel packages have been met with a cool market response.
Some agencies in south China's Guangdong Province have cut their prices to woo customers. Packages sold at more than 2000 yuan have been slashed to 1500. Many packages have seen record low prices in past festivals. However, registering customers are only 10 percent compared to last year's May Day Golden Holiday.
In Beijing, prices are also equal to off-season rates, and there are still many vacancies in group tours. Railway officials say there will still be a lot of traffic, mainly students or those visiting their families. The travel peak will be seen on April the 3rd and 6th.
