70 million visitors expected in Shanghai from May to October – what impact will that traffic have on global mobility?
The World Expo which will be held in Shanghai, China from May 1st to October 1st of this year is expected to attract 70 million visitors from 192 countries, and cover an area of 5.28 square kilometers within downtown Shanghai.
As a result, you can well imagine that this will affect not only the local citizens, but also expatriates moving in to, around and out of the city. While we are preparing in advance and working to mitigate delays for our clients, we are providing the following advisements to our clients and their relocating employees:
- International Household Goods: Expect a delay on the clearance of goods through customs due to the unusually large volume of shipments into Shanghai.
- Transportation: Final details of traffic control around the city will be available in April, but we anticipate that this will be very similar to the events around the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games where selected private cars may be banned on certain days to avoid traffic congestion.
- Visa and Immigration: Expect slower processing times for all visa types as the workloads at all Chinese embassies and consulates and at the public security stations.
- Serviced Apartments and Hotels: It is estimated that prices for serviced apartments around this time will be increased by 15-30% and that, for hotels, the variance will be even larger, ranging from 10-140%.
Shanghai is investing US$45 billion for this event mostly in the form of improvements to the city's infrastructure. So, while the time during the event may be challenging for your relocating employees in the area, the long-term impact will be a positive one for the permanent residents of Shanghai as well as the expatriate community.
Posted on 03/10/2010 in Global Mobility | Comments (0)
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