Hotels gear up for show

Taipei's five-star hotels and shopping malls are gearing up for the busiest season of the year -- Computex Taipei, the world's second largest information-technology exhibition.

According to the show's co-organizer Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會), between 25,000 and 30,000 overseas buyers will attend the five-day exhibition starting next Tuesday, up from 22,000 last year.

"Our room revenues and occupancy rates always peak during the Computex period," said Luanne Li (李佳燕), marketing communications manager at the Grand Hyatt Taipei.

Close to the three exhibition halls of Taipei World Trade Center and the Taipei International Convention Center, where the show will be held, the hotel is expected to generate around NT$11 million a day in room revenues, up from NT$4 million at normal times, as the average room rate more than doubles, Li said.

Caesar Park Taipei is also happy for the increase in business during the large show.

"The rooms are already fully booked," said the hotel's public relations manager, Amy Chen (陳怡珍).

To better serve their customers, hotels like the Westin Taipei, Far Eastern Plaza Hotel, Caesar Park Taipei, the Holiday Inn Asiaworld Taipei and Howard Taipei will offer free shuttle bus services to and from the exhibition halls every day during the exhibition.

Grand Hyatt Taipei will send its Computex guests to important financial or industrial hubs for free, Li said.

If that's not enough, TAITRA also provides free shuttles between the four exhibition sites and is giving visitors an opportunity to tour northern Taiwan, said Frank Chen (陳建坤), a division chief with TAITRA.

To promote local tourism, the Tourism Bureau will set up booths inside the exhibition halls for foreign passport-holders to register for a free one-day tour arranged by the bureau, Chen said. The tour is scheduled for next Friday, he said.

More information is available on the Web at http://www.taipeitradeshows.com.tw/info/FreeOneDayTour.htm.

Department stores and shopping malls in Hsinyi District are also counting on huge crowds pouring into the Computex show next week.

"Although it is hard to measure how much our business revenues will be boosted, the exhibition is definitely attracting more consumers into our facilities," said Shauna Lee (李香萩), spokeswoman for Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store (新光三越).

Scott Chen (陳文光), a vice commercial president of Taipei Financial Center Corp (台北金融大樓) -- which owns the Taipei 101 Mall -- said he also expects the revenues of their restaurants and the 1,500-seat food courts to jump by more than 50 percent next week.