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Price war sparked on after-holiday tourism market
3/2/2004 17:24


With the chilly days and bird flu having a negative impact on the local tourism market after the Spring Festival peak period, travel agencies in Shanghai are offering unbelievable low prices to bail themselves out of plight, the Youth Post reported today.
Tours to Hong Kong only cost 999 yuan (US$120) after the holiday, with Hainan tours priced only at 888 yuan, hitting record lows.
Large airfare discounts offered by the Dragonair and China Eastern Airlines are cited as the main reason for local travel agencies to offer such low prices on Hong Kong tours, said an industry analyst.
The Shanghai Dazhong International Travel Service Co even offered weekend tours to Hong Kong for only 950 yuan.
However, besides the 999 yuan, tourists have to pay 381 yuan for added taxes of the Hong Kong airport plus various kinds of entrance tickets at scenic spots, so the actually costs to Hong Kong should be at least 1,380 yuan, the analyst pointed out.
Compared with high-priced tours to Hong Kong, the special-offer ones require growing expenses paid by tourists themselves and a larger proportion of time period for shopping, he stressed, adding that such tours have become a hit for shopping buffs.
More than 400 travelers have signed up for such tours with the Shanghai China International Travel Service, and from February 5, the first batch of the cheaper tours will set off.
"We offered luxurious tours to Hong Kong, priced at 1,950 yuan, only 300-400 yuan more than those cheaper ones, but tourists can enjoy living in five-star hotels for three nights," said Zhang Huizhu, manager with the Shanghai China International Travel Service (SCITS).
According to the SCITS, tours to New Zealand currently only costs 13,000 yuan, down 3,000 yuan compared with the Spring Festival holiday and the six-day tours to Tokyo and Osaka are priced only at 8,900 yuan, down more than 1,000 yuan from usual.
The ten-day tours to Lhasa and Nepal only cost 9,800 yuan, according to the Spring International Travel Services.
With most students beginning their new semester soon, tours to Hainan will receive cold shoulders, so many local travel agencies priced their Hainan tours by air only at 888 yuan.
Business for domestic tours is currently predicted to decline by 30 percent from the same period last year.





 Wendy Zhang/ Shanghai Daily news