The JW Marriott hotel, Shanghai

With the forthcoming Shanghai World Expo, which will be held from May 1 to October 31, hotel rates in the city have jumped about 20 percent according to a People’s Daily online report Wednesday.

A report by the China Economic Weekly says the room rates of five-star hotels like the Shangri-la, Grant Hyatt and Hilton during the Shanghai Expo is about 1,500 yuan ($219.74) to 1,800 yuan, an increase of more than 20 percent compared with the end of 2009. The demand for rooms this year was greater than that at the end of 2009.

Statistics from Ctrip.com, a leading online travel service company in China say that the demand for rooms from economy hotels was more than four times than that at the end of last year and the prices also increased at different levels.

Meanwhile, the person in charge of rooms at the five-star JW Marriott Hotel in Shanghai said that prices may grow further as the expo draws nearer.

Currently, Shanghai has 550,000 beds, or 340,000 rooms; this is enough accommodation during normal periods, but not enough during the holidays, according to Han Zheng, mayor of Shanghai.

The upcoming World Expo is expected to bring in an estimated 70 million visitors and 58.5 million may from the other provinces or overseas, with the People’s Daily online report estimating an additional 400,000 beds are needed a day on average.

– read more at Global Times…

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The Fujitsu iPad...released in 2002

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