Travel China Planner

Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited, an online game company in China, has initiated a project named Shanda Tourism and plans to set up a tourism website to integrate its online and offline resources.

Shanda Tourism is now just a project under Shanda’s project investment center, but it will certainly be operated independently, according to media reports. Analysts figure that Shanda Tourism will be different from Ctrip.com, which means it will focus more on online community but not tickets or travel information.

Shanda Interactive has already launched its experiments in the tourism industry. For example, it has invested CNY1 billion to set up a theme park in Wuxi, and it is also planning to set up a real scenic area in Long Chuan Gorge in Zhejiang featuring one of its online games Aion. Shanda Tourism is considered a way to serve the theme parks and scenic areas that Shanda Interactive has invested in.

China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines have announced that they will cooperate by codesharing on the Beijing to Seoul and Shanghai Pudong to Seoul routes.

By codesharing, the two airlines are extending their network at little cost and travelers will be able to book on either route with either airline and accumulate frequent flier miles with their preferred scheme.

Previously China Southern and China Eastern had launched codesharing on many domestic routes but this is the first time that the two have launched codesharing on international routes.

As a member of SkyTeam, China Southern already codeshares with Korean Air on the Beijing to Seoul and Shanghai to Seoul routes.

The five-star Grand Metropark Resort Sanya has had its grand opening, marking the official entry of the resort brand managed by HK CTS Hotels Company into the Hainan International Tourism Island.

Thomas Guan, the general manager of Grand Metropark Resort Sanya, told around 300 celebrities, dignitaries, society guests and members of media that as the largest tourism group in China, innovation and development are very important for the group. He continued that the group was taking the first step forward together with Hainan International Tourism Island.

The resort is located in the center of Yalong Bay International PGA Golf Course and has 108 villas and 110 rooms. For meetings and banquets the property boasts a 500-square ballroom and meeting area equipped with modern conference equipment and sophisticated audio-visual equipment, which can accommodate groups of different sizes.

The resort has three different styles of restaurant, a British pub, a spa center, fitness center, kid’s club, as well as a range of water sports.

According to Lin Shichao, the deputy director of Xiamen Tourism Administration, Xiamen Tourism Association is now planning to set up an office in Taipei to promote Xiamen’s tourism resources and the Xiamen Annual Travel Card.

Lin said that currently the Xiamen Annual Travel Card is only available directly to Taiwan residents. Next, Xiamen will advertise the card in Taiwan via the media and travel agencies. Taiwan residents will then be able to use Xiamen’s travel agencies to apply for the cards.

It is also understood that Xiamen Tourism Association Taipei Office will get support from Xiamen Airlines Taipei Branch.

The tourism development plan for Tianjin Binhai New Zone has been formally approved by the Tianjin Municipal Government.

According to the plan, Tianjin Binhai New Zone Tourism Area, whose construction is expected to be completed in 2013, will be built into an integrated area and international tourism destination comprising of world class theme parks and yachting bases.

Located in the north of Tianjin Binhai New Zone, the Binhai Tourism Area will encompass a total area of 99 square kilometers. At present, the construction of the first phase of 10 square kilometers has started with many projects, including the national maritime museum, scheduled to be started in 2010.