Influx of Expo visitors throws local travel agencies into disarray

• Source: Global Times
• [09:33 June 04 2010]
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By Li Xiang

The huge influx of visitors to the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai is causing problems for the city's travel agencies, as inflated flight costs cause locals to stay at home.

The popularity of the Expo has pushed up the price of Shanghai-bound air tickets in a time that is considered the off-season by tourist agencies.

"Group flight tickets are now as expensive as individual tickets, an anomaly that is the result of the high demand for flights to Shanghai," a member of staff surnamed Zhu at Jin Jiang International Travel Service, a Shanghai-based agency, told the Global Times Thursday.

The high prices are persuading many Shanghai residents to forgo holidaying, slashing the revenue of travel agencies to the point that many are turning their focus to catering for incoming groups from outside of the city.

"We have seen a decline in the number of people leaving the city for places like Yunnan Province and Sichuan Province," a staff member surnamed Zhang at Spring International Travel Service told the Global Times. "Destinations closer to Shanghai, like Yandang Mountain and Qiandao Lake, are also doing poorly."

The shortage of hotel rooms in the city has also put pressure on another revenue stream for the city's travel agencies. Home Inn, a large budget hotel chain, said that rooms at its Expo Park branch on Pudong Road South are almost booked solid for June, with no single rooms available until the last two days of the month, and no double rooms until June 25.

With the rate of Expo visitors, who have already exceeded 9 million, showing no signs of abating, and the three-day-long Dragon Boat Holiday this month, pressure on local travel agencies is set to continue.