China to Surpass US as Top Hospitality Market: Cornell Prof

China's hospitality market, which is to be fuelled by next year's World Expo and the booming tourism markets in second and third tier cities, will overtake the US in 5-10 years, Michael Johnson, Dean of Hotel Administration of Cornell University, said in Shanghai Thursday. "The size of the world hospitality market plunged 30% in 2008, hit hard by the economic meltdown," Johnson noted. "China currently has 2 million hotel rooms and I'd like to predict the figure would jump to 5 million in 5 to 7 years." He also warned of haphazard establishment of hotels for the forthcoming World Expo.