Tourism without al-Qaeda

SHANGHAI – Before 9/11 traveling overseas used to be like this: No taking off your shoes at the airport to check for explosives, no bomb-sniffing dogs, no thorough inspection of carry-on luggage, no long queues or protracted questioning at the immigration counter.

These days you can still enjoy hassle-free air travel, but only if your destination is among one of the few countries in the world still untouched by the threat of Islamist extremism: China.

On the day Al-Jazeera broadcast a videotape indicating that Osama bin Laden is alive and most likely well and still plotting to kill Americans and their allies, Shanghai was busy preparing for the next day’s big event, the Fourth China International Travel Mart. Wednesday night, on the eve of CITM, the Yunan Provincial People’s Government hosted a scrumptious 16-course banquet for 1,300 buyers of the travel industry from all over China and 43 countries including the Philippines.

Filipinos can only wish the terrorist plague never hit our country. Members of the travel industry told me business is even worse this year than in the months after the terrorist attacks in the United States on Sept. 11 last year. Yuletide is supposed to be a peak season for travel, but the bombings and the Abu Sayyaf have kept away visitors. The travel industry is still awaiting the impact of the Bali attack and the Philippines’ inclusion in the Southeast Asian zone of terror, courtesy of Jemaah Islamiyah.

* * *

In contrast, Shanghai is booming, unmindful of either terrorists or ordinary criminals. Jasmine Lee, our very able guide, told our travel group from the Philippines that we could go out at night without worrying about being mugged. "Don’t worry," she told us, "Shanghai is very safe. China is very safe." She promised us that Shanghai police are "very efficient" at catching pickpockets and other troublemakers. In the city where kidnappings of locals during the Opium Wars gave rise to a synonym for being kidnapped, no one has to worry about being shanghaied. And Shanghai is growing at an awesome pace. The last time I was here was about six years ago. "It’s so different now," Oscar Chong, director of Panda Travel told me.

For starters, there’s the huge, modern Pudong airport, opened three years ago. Soon they will have what locals call the "mag-le" – the "magnetic levitation" or overhead railway system that will connect the airport to the nearest subway 30 kilometers away. With the rail coaches going at a maximum speed of 500 kph, the trip will take all of eight minutes.

During my first visit to China I had a hard time looking for a cup of coffee. In 2000 Starbucks opened its first outlet in Shanghai. The brew became so popular especially among young trendsetters that the American coffee chain now has 30 outlets in this city alone.

Kentucky Fried Chicken, a big hit among children, is even more ubiquitous, with over 500 outlets all over China. And where there’s a KFC there’s usually a McDonald’s.

Lifestyles are changing across China, where the central government under Party General Secretary Jiang Zemin has been encouraging the people to get rich. And the Shanghainese have been among the most responsive to the call. The city’s per capita income is $4,500. Jasmine told us couples now find it fashionable to pursue a "DINC" lifestyle: Double Income, No Child.

There is still a one-child policy in the country, although there are now five categories of exemptions. In case couples who do not fall under these categories decide to have a second child, they can do so – if they can afford a fine equivalent to $10,000.

Bicycles are still ubiquitous in Shanghai, where an average family owns three bikes. So far only one out of 10 families in the city owns a car. But there are growing lines for the 3,000 license plates auctioned off every month by the government to private car buyers. Among the most popular are the "family cars" of Volkswagen and General Motors, whose prices are the equivalent of about P700,000.

Aileen Mendiola, the Philippines’ vice consul here, said an ordinary secretary in Shanghai can afford to take long overseas vacations twice a year. She said their objective in their trip, apart from sightseeing, is to shop for designer items.Among the favorites are Ferragamos.

With personal incomes rising, real estate has become a hot market, with more and more couples buying condominium units. This has pushed up rent in the city; a typical three-bedroom "service apartment" downtown can cost about $1,000 a month.

* * *

The dynamism and the safety combined with the exotic allure of old China have made this city a popular tourist destination, and it has been one of the few lucky areas untouched by fallout from 9/11. The CITM was packed with buyers, who didn’t have to worry about al-Qaeda, Osama or Jemaah Islamiyah. My biggest problem during my visit was how to keep myself from pigging out.

In the first 10 months of the year more than 2.3 million foreigners visited Shanghai – a 34.68 percent year-on-year increase. The figure is expected to climb to 2.6 million by yearend. That’s an average annual revenue of around $11.6 billion – about 5.5 percent of the city’s gross domestic product.

Shanghai is bidding to host the 2010 World Expo; the decision is awaited next month. China is hoping the expo will lure up to 70 million visitors in 2010.

By 2005 the city expects 18 million overseas tourists annually, generating revenues of up to around $600 million. China itself has the world’s largest domestic market for tourism. And by 2020, it hopes to become the world’s No. 1 tourist destination. At the rate things are going, China is getting there. Last year the country ranked fifth in the world in both foreign tourist arrivals – a whopping $89.01 million – and tourism revenues.

There are still too many smokers, locals can be rude, traffic is getting worse, and I had problems with Internet access. The weather has been stormy since I arrived Wednesday. But at least the people of Shanghai can brag that their well-planned city never gets flooded. Shanghai’s boom seems unstoppable.