Foreign and domestic hotel groups are already scrambling for a share of the lucrative Guangzhou market, Guangzhou Daily said.
A senior official for the Grand Hyatt group said construction of the new International Convention and Exhibition Centre would change the city's hotel market. 'In hotel marketing, there is a concept called `downtown area'. The area is within 25 minutes drive from a hotel as a focus. Currently, there is no hotel near the new exhibition centre. Once a hotel is built, it will have the edge in the new city area, which means travellers planning to go to the new exhibition centre will stay at the hotel. And that's why we're building a five-star hotel in Guangzhou', she said.
Lu Yi, general manager of R&F Properties Group - one of the city's largest property and management firms - said the group had purchased four plots of land for 774 million yuan (HK$726 million) in Zhujiang New City. One of the plots would be used for a hotel.
Shangri-La's vice-president for marketing and sales, Zhu Fuming, said they hoped to build a hotel in Pazhou to take advantage of Guangzhou's ambition to become an economic and cultural centre in the Pearl River Delta. 'The new exhibition centre in Pazhou and the new airport in Huadu district will spur growth in the city's exhibition and tourism sector. The Shangri-La Pazhou will meet demand with its quality service and luxury commercial facilities', Zhu said.
'If conditions are suitable, Shangri-La will consider expanding its business in Guangdong, particularly in Guangzhou and Shenzhen.'
Shenzhen-listed Dong Fang Hotel has injected 200 million yuan in improving its facilities. Its general manager, Liu Minjun, said present and future marketing goals were based on the 'exhibition economy' in Guangzhou. 'In future, we hope the income from the `exhibition economy' could account for about 25 per cent of our total income', he said.
The newspaper also said Six Continents - one of the world's leading hotel chains - was considering building a hotel near the new exhibition centre.
The twice-yearly Guangzhou trade fairs - the country's largest export trade fairs - attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year. A total of 150,485 visitors attended the fair last month - up 11 per cent from 135,000 a year ago. The newly-completed exhibition centre in Pazhou will host the Guangzhou trade fair for the first time next year.
