Strict hygiene controls for forthcoming CIIE

With the third China International Import Expo scheduled to be held from Nov 5 to 10 in Shanghai, the city government and hotels have geared up to provide attendees with safe accommodation.

The Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism has selected 1,151 hotels as recommended accommodations for the expo depending on a series of factors, which include the hotel's epidemic prevention performance, past operation record, and distance to the expo venue.

The expo will be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center at 333 Songze Avenue in Qingpu district, which is close to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and the Hongqiao high-speed railway station.

Seventeen recommended hotels are located within 2 kilometers of the venue, offering 4,500 guest rooms; 80 recommended hotels with 12,100 rooms are within 2 to 5 km; 193 hotels with 30,020 rooms are in 5 to 10 km range; and the remaining 861 hotels with 145,200 rooms are beyond 10 km.

The recommendation list will be published on the official website of the expo and other online hotel booking websites, such as Ctrip and Meituan. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, hotels' hygiene standards and monitoring have been much stricter this year.

The Shanghai Health Commission issued a guideline on epidemic prevention and control for all the hotels involved in the CIIE reception in September.

The guideline requires hotel workers complete a 14-day self-monitoring of body temperature prior to the expo, and wear masks and gloves when they are on duty.

It also requires international visitors to provide a negative COVID-19 test result and domestic guests to provide their health code that shows they haven't been to areas with high risk of exposure to the virus.

Hotels should also mandate all people receive a temperature check at the entrance and set up a temporary quarantine zone for emergencies, according to the guideline.

Liang Fazong, managing director of Cordis Hotel Shanghai Hongqiao, which is one of the nearby hotels to the expo venue, said the company will implement all the measures required by the government to provide a safe and sound environment for all the guests of the expo.

InterContinental Shanghai NECC, the only hotel situated inside the expo venue, said all of its employees will undergo two rounds of testing before going to work for the expo, and the hotel has organized extra training for its cleaners.

Huazhu Hotels Group, one of the country's largest hotel operators, said it has reduced face-to-face contact by introducing self-help counters in its hotels, which will allow guests to check-in and check-out on their own.

The expo, which is an annual national-level exhibition themed on imports, has been held since 2018, attracting more than 3,000 international companies as exhibitors and more than 500,000 professional visitors last year.