Hotel room and air ticket prices up as Expo end draws near
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Prices of hotel rooms and air tickets have been going up as large numbers of tourists book their trips to Shanghai to make their last minute visits to the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai before the event closes at the end of the month.
After receiving over 1.03 million people on October 16, the Expo Park is expected to see an even higher passenger flow over the coming weekend, which will be the penultimate of the event.
According to online travel service provider Ctrip, the average room price of five-star hotels in Shanghai for the last two weeks of October is 1,700 yuan ($256) per night, up 20 percent on the National Holiday average; while for four-star hotels it is around 800 yuan ($121) per night, up 10 percent.
All 555 rooms have been booked for the following two weekends at Grand Hyatt Shanghai, with prices starting from 2,800 yuan ($421) per night plus a 15 percent service fee. The room price will fall to 2,500 yuan ($376) after the Expo, said Cao Ni, a public relations officer from the hotel.
Jin Jiang Tower, another five-star hotel located near Huaihai Road Middle, is also fully booked for the last 10 days of the Expo, with an average price of 1,663 yuan ($250). "Room prices will decline slightly in November," Wei Jia, the hotel's public relations officer, said. "The fluctuation of room prices is rational and market-driven."
The room price for the hotel in November is currently at around 1,400 yuan ($211), according to Ctrip.
Meanwhile, air fares between Shanghai and other major cities in China are relatively high until the end of October. According to Qunar. com, one of the biggest air tick-eting websites, one-way direct flights between Shanghai and Beijing are available for 1,015 yuan ($153) until the end of this month, dropping to 664 yuan ($100) on November 1.
Prices of air tickets between Shanghai and Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Changsha and Wuhan are also hitting their full prices over the last two weekends of October.
