The Beijing Olympics Fails to Meet Tourism Expectations
In the months, even years leading to the Beijing Olympics, tourism experts have forecasted that there would be approximately two million tourists who would be flocking to China’s capital city in the two weeks of the Games. It was estimated that 500,000 of these two million visitors would be coming from overseas. However, during the Games itself, these numbers did not materialize. The Beijing Olympics failed to meet expectations as a tourist event.
That the expected numbers did not show up in Beijing during the Olympics can be glimpsed easily from the average occupancy rates of hotels in the city at the time. For four-star hotels, only around 50% of the rooms were occupied. The rate for five-star hotels, on the other hand, was pegged at 70%. Ironically, the occupancy rate was down by almost 20% when compared to the rates during the same period in 2007.
The lack of visitors to the Beijing Olympics was also very much visible during the games itself. It was reported by the Beijing authorities that all 6.8 million tickets issued for the games were sold out. However, at the course of the games, empty seats were highly noticeable.
There were a few factors that led to the dismal turnout of tourists to the Beijing Olympics. One of these factors was economic. With the rising oil prices and inflation being felt globally, and with the credit crunch and the subprime mortgage crisis causing Americans to tighten their belts, not a lot of foreign visitors were inclined to fly to Beijing to watch the Olympics. The same is true for the Chinese themselves. With inflation on the rise, many opted to stay at home and watch the Games from television instead of going to Beijing.
The one factor to which tourism experts were attributing to the failure of the Beijing Olympics to become a tourism success is the fact that the Chinese government suddenly tightened visa requirements and security measures as early as April 2008.
Months before the opening ceremonies of the Games, China required foreign visitors to have proof of their accommodation and return ticket to their country of origin to be able to get a Chinese visa for the Olympics. This gave off the impression that China is not welcoming foreign visitors for the Games, a notion that was reinforced by the fact that nearly 80% of the tickets to the Games were reserved for Chinese spectators.
The Beijing Olympics had all it took to be a commercial tourism success as it was expected to be. The fact that it failed can only be attributed to unforeseen causes and to the fault of the Chinese government itself.
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