Mr. Wu and his family come from Taiyuan in Shanxi Province. When they travelled to Beijing for the first time this spring, they were impressed by the completed "water cube" (the National Aquatics Center) and the "bird's nest" (the National Stadium, venue of the opening and closing ceremony of the Olympic Games), which are still under construction.

"For the 2008 Olympics, we are willing to spend 10,000 yuan each person to watch the Games in Beijing," Wu said. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and worth the money, though it is expensive."

Ni Songhua, Manager of China Ocean International Travel Service Co. Ltd. told Wu that during the Olympic Games a standard room in a budget hotel will cost around 1,100-1,400 yuan, while a standard room in a four-star hotel priced at around 500 yuan at present will soar to 4,000 yuan. In the meantime, city traffic and flight schedules are to be handled under a centralized arrangement by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG). Ni said tickets for the games are generally quite affordable, but the accommodation and the transportation will be the most expensive items for visitors.

It is expected that the distribution channel of the tickets for the Olympic Games will be announced by October. It is international practice that for important sports competitions such as the Olympic Games, some tickets are sold through designated travel agencies. Ni predicted that CTS Sports Travel Service Co. Ltd., a joint venture of China Sports Group Industry Co. Ltd. and China Travel Service, will probably be the general ticket agent and other travel agencies will get tickets from it and seize opportunities to maximize potential benefits.

60-day window of opportunity

According to BOCOG's data, 7.5 million tickets will be issued for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, 25 percent of which will be sold to overseas spectators. If overseas spectators buy three-to-five tickets per person, their total number will be around 450,000-600,000.

Based on this estimation, 600,000 foreign visitors will come to Beijing during the Olympic Games (for a total of 60 days, before and after the Games, including Olympic qualifying rounds), and domestic visitors are expected to reach 2.25 to 2.6 million. From August 6 to 24 when the matches are held, at least 500,000 visitors will reside, dine and travel within Beijing each day.

The biggest opportunity for the tourism industry lies within these 60 days. As Ni said, the hotel rates would be six-to-eight times the usual price, and demand for touring buses will be three-to-five times the usual amount. The airport will change or cancel some flights as a priority service for the Games and city traffic will also be controlled. Individual tourists are likely to face reservation difficulties in terms of ticketing, accommodation and transportation. However, the travel agencies have obvious advantages in these areas.

In view of the ticket pre-sale policy, travel agencies can only design subsidiary tour products, such as visiting the Olympic Games venues. But this is not the most important factor. Travel agencies wish to obtain rights to ticket sales, which could benefit them the most.

Chen Siguang, Secretary General of Beijing Olympic Economy Research Association, said that the tourism industry has the most to gain during the 2008 Olympic Games compared with other industries. According to experience from previous Olympics, while people come to watch the Games in Beijing they will also visit tourist attractions around Beijing and other famous scenic spots across China. This, in turn, will lead to an increase in the income of the tourism industry.

Chen said the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will bring opportunities to numerous sectors and the tourism industry is undoubtedly the biggest and most direct beneficiary. The National Tourism Administration (NTA) estimated that due to the Olympic Games, the number of inbound tourists in 008 will increase greatly to 4.7 million and foreign exchange earnings from tourism will reach $3.7 billion. Domestic visitors coming to Beijing will also soar to 103 million, bringing revenues of 114.8 billion yuan.

Three pre-Olympic campaigns

Campaign I, June-December 2007

Ticketing, market research and initial travel itinerary planning take a big part in this phase.

According to the NTA's Press Office, principal Olympic travel schemes and packages will be settled by the end of the year. The most attractive part in the itinerary during the lead-up period will be the Olympic arena visits that will not only take tourists to the sporting grounds built in Beijing but also to those in Qingdao, Tianjin, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao. The earliest products will be launched in the fall, taking into account fitting-out progress at Olympic venues, arrangement of adaptation matches and if admission is permitted.

According to Yu Debin, Deputy Director of Beijing Tourism Administration (BTA), visits to the Olympic venues and surrounding tourist sites of Beijing shall be launched shortly.

In its effort to support the Olympic tour, BTA signed agreements with Asiana Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines and China Eastern Airlines to place pocket books, Beijing tourist guides and maps of Beijing on their