According to statistics offered by the municipal statistics bureau of Beijing, during the May Day holiday, 1,910,000 tourists from outside Beijing and 1,690,000 Beijing residents participated in touring activities in the capital. A survey shows that tourists from outside Beijing spent 3 billion yuan, whereas Beijing residents account for the remaining 0.2 billion yuan.

Transportation

During the May Day holiday, the lion’s share in transportation profit should go to the taxis. Despite negative factors like heavier traffic jams, the estimated money earned by the 67,000 taxis in that week should amount to about 200 million yuan. Public transportation ranks second. Data from the Beijing Public Transportation Co. shows that between April 30 and May 7, buses and trolleys altogether made 747,000 journeys conveying over 87,306,000 passenger times and gaining over 100 million yuan. The third biggest beneficiary is the subway company. During this holiday, the subway company made 5,823 journeys and transported over 10,740,000 passenger times. With ticket at 3 yuan per person, the subway company was able to turn in about 30 million yuan. Sightseeing buses also found a place, gaining 3.5 million yuan.

Accommodation

The biggest beneficiaries in this industry are hostels and economy hotels. Although a standard double room in a hostel soared to over 150 yuan per day during the peak, most tourists still took it as their first option. Economy hotels located near downtown city also saw booming business. Survey result showed that 41.9 percent of tourists were accommodated in hostels and economy hotels, whereas the figure for three-star hotel was only 8.8 percent.

Food

No doubt that Beijing Roast Duck well represents Beijing’s traditional food. Between April 30 and May 7, the Qianmen Branch of Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant alone sold 14,008 roast ducks. The eight outlets of Quanjude Corporation received 92,641 guests in total, which means that one out of every 20 tourists had dined at Quanjude, turning in a rough profit of 10 million yuan.

Restaurants serving fried-meat noodles, traditional Beijing food, were another winner. Tourists are attracted by the traditional decoration of such restaurants, traditional ways of service and distinct flavor. For the catering industry, medium-class specialty restaurants gained more than luxurious brand restaurants.

Shopping

According to sources from travel guides, in recent years, tourists to Beijing prefer souvenirs with distinctive local features. Tourists from economically developed areas usually buy roast ducks, preserved fruits and handicrafts, whereas those from inland prefer fashionable clothes and other popular commodities.

(china.org.cn by Gao Kun 05/31/2001)