Lack of Tourists Hurting China’s Panda Center

Travel Blog  •  Joanna Kakissis  •  07.21.08 | 11:17 AM ET

imageThe Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding didn’t suffer physical damage from the deadly earthquake that left 90,000 people dead or missing earlier this year. But spooked tourists cancelled trips to the region, leaving only about 300 people visiting daily—about one-tenth of the normal volume, NPR reports.

Chengdu officials estimate the center will lose $1 million in revenue this year, and they’re having to cut back on research and even panda food. The publisher of a book about Panda Jingjing, the 2-year-old Olympic mascot who lives at Chengdu, is donating the proceeds from sales of Panda: Watch Me Grow to the center. 

Related on World Hum:
* China’s Panda Reserve May Relocate

Photo by colin zhu via Flickr (Creative Commons).

Tags: Eco Travel, Asia, China, News and Briefs

Joanna Kakissis's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The Washington Post, among other publications. A contributor to the World Hum blog, she's currently a Ted Scripps fellow in environmental journalism at the University of Colorado in Boulder.


4 Comments for Lack of Tourists Hurting China’s Panda Center

Dave 07.21.08 | 6:07 PM ET

I think its sad that they have to divert funds away from the panda exhibit but they have to do it to stay alive as a whole.  What China needs to do is spread some sort of word out that they are safe for tourism again.

TambourineMan 07.21.08 | 6:50 PM ET

Thanks for the depressing panda picture.

Tyler 07.22.08 | 1:48 AM ET

I dare say the Chinese government is largely responsible for this as well.  Tourist numbers are immensely lower in Beijing’s security tightening during the days prior to the Olympics.

Not only are places like Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu suffering empty hotels, but Tibet’s several month cut-off really put strain on Tibetan peoples living off of tourism dollars.

I can relate from experience as I am on the end of a 2 month ridiculous back and forth with a Chinese embassy to get my visa, which is not even close to what I wanted.

Dave 07.22.08 | 1:44 PM ET

China probably weighed their options of either having a source of income through tourism or the games.  There would be greater publicity for the games, so they want to make sure it goes off without a hitch.

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.