Slim chance for Olympic tickets
Every four years a chosen city ridiculously inflates its hotel rates and allows unprecedented traffic chaos, while enforcing draconian anti-terrorist restrictions on citizens and visitors
Slim chance for Olympic tickets
But despite its unavoidable ugly side, the flood of international and domestic tourists will attest the Summer Olympic Games and its internationally buzz of excitement, is for many irresistible.
Australians gambling on a last-minute trip to the Beijing Olympics have a slim - albeit unlikely - chance of snaring tickets less than a month out from the quadrennial smorgasbord of sport.
Obtaining a visa to enter China will be the real challenge, with authorities tightening requirements including the need for consulate staff to be provided copies of itineraries, details and proof of hotel bookings.
China is warned that while proof of Games tickets purchased will be required, that alone will not guarantee a visa being issued.
Australia's allocation of tickets was sold-out about 100 days out from the August 8-24 Beijing Games, following heavy demand.
Obtaining tickets for various events had then only been possible through pricey hospitality packages out of the reach of most punters.
The accommodation and ticket hospitality packages - ranging from $7,500 to about $23,000 per person - excluding flights, sold out in mid-June.
But the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) has advised Australia's official Games ticketing agent CoSport, that it will distribute more tickets for sale abroad.
"Our allocation of tickets sold out in early April," a spokeswoman from CoSport's Sydney office said.
"But BOCOG has advised us we're about to get some more. The only problem is we don't know how many, what events they're for and when exactly we'll have them available for sale.
"We're telling members of the public that call our offices to monitor our website from now onwards and that we expect sales to take place by mid-July."
She says CoSport - which is also the ticketing agent for the US, Canada, Austria, Bulgaria and the Slovak Republic - expects to receive more than 300,000 tickets to various Games events.
Agreements in place with each respective National Olympic Committee, will enable tickets experiencing low demand, to be sold across any of CoSport's other territories.
But difficulty in communication and insufficient English-language skills, considered by many within the Olympic movement as a threat to the success of the Beijing Games, is already significantly affecting CoSport's Games-time logistical plans.
The CoSport spokeswoman says the company will use hundreds of Olympic-accredited vehicles to handle the transfer needs of clients who have purchased hospitality packages.
She says the vehicles must be driven by BOCOG-recruited staff, some of whom have limited or no command of the English language.
"We have had to place translators into each of these vehicles and this of course results in one less place that would normally be used in providing the service," the spokeswoman says.
According to Ed Hula, managing editor of Atlanta-based Olympics news publication Around The Rings, the difficulty obtaining event tickets outside the host nation is not a new phenomenon.
"Tickets are more scarce for people outside China, not unlike the situation for visitors to the Sydney and Atlanta Games," Hula says.
"The bulk of the tickets are sold domestically. In the case of Beijing, 75% of the eight million tickets were sold in China."
Hotel rooms are not difficult to find, but the lowest prices for 3-star or 4-star rooms is in the range of $US400 ($NZ530) a night, at least double normal rates, he says.
While 5-star hotels are sold out, he expects there will be openings in August due to cancellations, while room prices should also fall across the range of hotels in Beijing.
But Hula says it's "almost too late" for Australians to consider a spontaneous trip to the Chinese capital.
"The latest indications are there will be plenty of hotel rooms and you can still buy airline tickets, but the reality is there's a Games ticket shortage," he says.
"I am not sure how Chinese police will handle aftermarket ticket sales on the streets of Beijing: scalping is illegal in China and few tickets are left to buy from authorised agents around the world."
Fans that overcome the strict visa restrictions and run the gauntlet of buying tickets outside venues, may also find the heavily inflated asking price going to waste.
During recent 'Good Luck Beijing' test events, ticketing sources say scalped ticket buyers had been detained by police for questioning about their purchases, released only after events to which the thought they had tickets, had concluded.
Meanwhile, the federal government is reassuring Australians it is safe to head to the Beijing Olympics despite upgrading its travel advice for visitors to China.
On its smarttraveller website, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) advises Olympic visitors to be aware of warnings from Beijing of the possible terrorist threat.
DFAT says in the advisory that the Chinese government has been publicly warning of terrorist threats leading up to and during the Olympics and Paralympics, from groups opposed to the government.
It says the Chinese government has foiled at least three attempts targeting the Olympics, including alleged attempts to crash an airliner and kidnap athletes and journalists.
DFAT adds: "Terrorist attacks can be indiscriminate and may target places frequented by tourists."
A senior Chinese security official has recently warned the Olympics could be threatened by sabotage and unrest, as authorities continue efforts to quash any signs of unrest ahead of the Games.
China tour operators in Australia are reporting a drop on business of up to 50% over the same period last year, citing the recent earthquake, unrest in Tibet and terrorism concerns as key reasons.
A legal guide - covering a wide range of subjects for foreigners, from their entry, exit and tourism to accommodation and transportation within China - was posted on BOCOG's website last month.
The publication warns that Foreigners suspected of having the potential to carry out terrorist or violent attacks, or indulge in subversive activities will be denied entry into China during the Olympics.
"Foreigners must respect Chinese laws while in China and must not harm China's national security or damage the social order," it says.
It further warns overseas visitors against shouting insulting slogans or displaying them on banners and prohibiting religious, political or racial banners at venues.
Getting there
Air China, the airline partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, says demand for flights to Beijing for the Olympics has been steady, although the carrier had initially over-anticipated demand, with last-minute Games tourist set to benefit.
The airline has just released a special return fare to Beijing ex-Sydney/Melbourne, with economy seats priced at approximately $AU1,300.00 inc govt taxes and surcharges, while business class seats are priced from approximately $AU3,200 inc govt taxes and surcharges.
Air China provides daily services from Sydney on its new Airbus A330-200 aircraft to Beijing. A thrice-weekly service operates from Melbourne to Beijing.
Bookings through travel agents, via the Air China website:
www.airchina.com.au or directly through Air China in Sydney (02) 9232-7277 or Melbourne (03) 8602-5555.
Qantas, the official airline of the Australian Olympic Team says there has been strong demand for flights during the Olympic period.
Qantas operates three flights per week between Sydney and Beijing but will operate a daily direct service between Sydney and Beijing during the Olympics.
Economy seats to Beijing from July 23, are priced at $AU1,666 inc govt taxes and surcharges, with fares increasing to $AU2,203 for August 1-15.
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