KUNMIN - A tourism official assured the travel trade that Shanghai would be better equipped to host CITM next year.
Zhu Chengru of the Shanghai Tourism Commission said that there are concerns that there are not enough hotel rooms and that the traffic situation is getting worse in the city.
As of October 2005, there were 66 four – and five – hotels in Shanghai. By next year there will be 20 more new hotels, she said.
With regard to the traffic situation, she said the government is continuing to build railway infrastructures. Shanghai’s newest railway will be open by end of the current year.
By year-end 2006, an airport train which leads to the exhibition centre will be operational. Travel time from airport to the nearest terminal to the exhibition centre will take only about seven minutes.
To help taxi drivers in navigating Shanghai’s busy streets, there are plans of the government to develop an electronic map, which would be installed in taxis.
With demand for booths at CITM steadily increasing, two new exhibition halls will be added and completed by next year. With the addition, the total exhibition floor area will be covering 100,000 square metres.
CITM is held alternately between Kunmin and Shanghai.