Shanghai is hosting the World Expo 2010
The six-month event, hosted by China, is expected to attract around 70 million attendees. And Singapore companies want to get a piece of the action by providing hotel rooms and activities to promote product branding.
A heritage building from the 1930s, along Hengshan Road in Shanghai, is home to a swanky boutique hotel – as travel agency Commonwealth Travel Service Corporation (CTC) invested US$4 million in the city as part of its regionalisation efforts.
CTC hopes to set up other entertainment outlets at Shanghai’s Yuyuan Garden, a famous classical garden in the heart of the city. It believes the Expo will help it recoup its investments two years earlier than expected.
“Our occupancy rate is above 80 per cent. Next year, we can expect new contracts with the Expo. It is another 100-room hotel set to open by May next year,” said Wee Hee Ling, managing director, Commonwealth Travel Service Corporation.
Apart from the hotel sector, food manufacturers are also looking for a slice of the pie.
“More people will be going to Shanghai for the Expo. During those months, we can hold larger scale activities, focusing on food safety and quality of our products,” said Liane Ong, regional director, Eastern China, International Operations Group, IE Singapore. – read more at ChannelNewsAsia.com…