The hotel industry in Dongguan, which is also known as "the Hub of Hotels" is also affected by the economic depression throughout Europe and America. Though the Famous Furniture Fair and Canton Fare are drawing near, the average occupancy rate of hotels is still not as high as previous years. Insiders are still optimistic about the post-Olympics situation with respect to increasing international trade. Businessmen from Southeast Asia have become the sales target for some hotels.

Since the beginning of 2008, the appreciation of RMB and increase in cost has resulted in the decrease of export, which leads to a slump in turnover for enterprises in Dongguan. At the same time, the average occupancy rate of hotels has dropped as business trips in Dongguan have decreased. The situation is even worse for those medium and small sized hotels.

"Apart from the economic depression, the strictly-controlled visa application during the Olympics also affects the business of hotels", said Ms. Chen from the Marketing Department of Dongguan Exhibition International Hotel. Most of the business meetings and press conferences, which constituted a greater part of the hotel business, have had to be postponed for the Olympics. "Big business meetings with over 500 participants have rarely been held after the Olympic Games opened."

As the Olympics have concluded, there are many business activities and exhibitions held in September and October and a lot of businessmen from Southeast are coming to the hotels. Some restaurants are planning to add some TV channels in Arabic and make adjustments on the menu to satisfy guests from Middle-Asia and Southeast Asia.

The Canton Fair has been separated into 3 phases. All 3 phases will be held in Pazhou Complex nearer to Dongguan, thus it is going to benefit many hotels in Dongguan. The Entrance IC card can be received from 3 Dongguan Hotels. The paper-made entrance certificate is no longer in use for the 104th Canton Fair, which will be replaced by an IC card. From this year in Dongguan, exhibitors in the Fair can get their IC card from Regal Palace Hotel, Cinese Hotel and Exhibition International Hotel in Dongguan. These 3 hotels will provide bus service for exhibitors to travel between the hotels and Pazhou Complex. The room reservation services of each hotel have been started.