Sanya tops the tourism stakes (2)

The new 72-hour visa policy for foreign visitors, which came into effect on Jan 1, is likely to stimulate more travel numbers, which in turn will impact prices in the future, considering that many of the leading international hotel companies are planning major expansion in China.

Five star hotels in China are still not pricey when compared to other global peers, the survey said. According to the average prices paid in yuan for hotel rooms across different star ratings in the world, the average daily room rents in Guangzhou's five-star hotels is 1,195 yuan, while in Beijing it was around 1,319 yuan. Shanghai was only slightly higher at 1,367 yuan. Among these cities, the biggest decline in hotel rates was seen in Guangzhou, with prices falling by nearly 26 percent.

Most of the domestic travelers preferred to stay in China-based hotels with an average daily rate of 655 yuan, the report said.

The number of inbound travelers is expected to see an annual growth of about 10 percent between 2011 and 2015, Wu Wenxue, a senior official with China National Tourism Administration told Xinhua News Agency. He said that by 2015 inbound travelers to China would touch 3.3 billion, with travel spending accounting for 10 percent of the total residential consumption, and creating strong demand for theme, resort and economy hotels.

However, the growing number of visitors to domestic destinations does not necessarily mean that there has been a similar increase in the tourist satisfaction levels.

Earlier this month, the China Tourism Academy published a report on Chinese tourist satisfaction index for the first quarter of the year, which showed a sharp drop in satisfaction levels among inbound travelers.

The report found that most of the complaints are largely due to the deteriorating air quality such as continuous haze and sandstorm and the water quality in many destinations.

Among the respondents, foreign travelers have lower satisfaction than Chinese tourists on the air quality. In addition, prices at restaurants, tourism products and public services have also contributed to discontent among travelers, the report said.

We recommend:
Zhang Yuqi, Wang Quanan get married	Super kittens that make you laugh	Never-seen photos of Madonna on display
"Low-carbon fashion" show held in China	Hold on to the last tattoo of Li people	11 most creative elevators in the world
World's most precious diamonds	Cute baby and his little bulldogs	Angelababy poses for VOGUE magazine