INDUSTRY recovery allowed hotels in Shanghai to increase room rates in January and April - the first rises since 1991.
About one million international visitors went to the city last year - 30 per cent from Japan, 20 per cent from Taiwan and 10 per cent from Hongkong. The rest came from Europe, North America and the Pacific.
According to Hotel Sofitel Hyland Shanghai general manager Gerhard Zimmer, international visitor arrivals are expected to reach 1.3 million by the end of next year.
''At present, 70 per cent of international arrivals are business travellers and the rest tourists,'' Mr Zimmer said.
''I believe the tourism industry would do even better if there were more flight capacity into the city.'' He described the hotel industry's performance as ''very good'' in view of the dismal performance in 1991 where the average occupancy rate was between 35 per cent and 55 per cent and average room rate ranged from US$35 to $70.
Hotel Sofitel opened in January this year, reaching an average occupancy of 85 per cent at an average room rate of $76.