The?Shanghai government is taking various steps to make
life easier for disabled tourists traveling to the city, the
Shanghai Tourism Administrative Committee said yesterday.
Tourism authorities from Shanghai, Jiangsu
and Zhejiang
provinces plan to train 30 guides to work for deaf-and-dumb
tourists next year, publish tourist maps written in braille, and
build wheelchair ramps and blind paths at all major scenic spots,
said Dao Shuming, vice chairman of the local tourism committee.
"To further regulate the market and provide tourists a more
comfortable traveling environment is something we'll make efforts
to achieve," he said, adding that detailed standards, such as
uniforms for the guides, should be settled.
Meanwhile, the city says it hopes to attract 4.5 million to 4.8
million tourists from abroad next year, expecting an increase of
more than 10 percent from this year, the committee said.
Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang will cooperate closely to promote
the whole Yangtze River Delta region as a destination providing
packaged products to tourists from both home and abroad.
"We plan to launch joint campaigns in new markets in Russia and
East Europe," Dao said. "Meanwhile, we'll try to attract more
tourists from Japan and South Korea, which already make up a major
part of our overseas customers."
More investments in sales promotion will be necessary, said Wang
Yiran, professor of tourism management at Shanghai
University.
He noted that in 2000, Hawaii spent US$500 million on tourist
promotion, accounting for 5 percent of its total tourist incomes
that year.
"If we were to follow suit, that means Shanghai should invest at
least US$110 million in overseas promotion, which is obviously
impossible currently," he said.
(Shanghai Daily November 6, 2004)