Avis partners World Expo 2010

24 May 2010

More than 70 million people are expected to converge on Shanghai between May and October to attend World Expo 2010. The event is seen as the 'Olympic Games' of economy, science and technology, offering the chance for visitors and exhibitors to network on an international scale. This year, leading international car rental company Avis is to be the designated car rental service supplier of World Expo.

As International Drivers Permits are not recognised in China and the traffic can be very unpredictable, Avis is offering competitive rates during World Expo on its chauffeur-driven rentals. In preparation for Expo, the company has bought over 100 new vehicles, including brands from Buick to Audi and Mercedes Benz, and also hired more than 100 additional chauffeurs. This means that visitors can choose from a fleet of high-quality vehicles which are driven by professionally trained and highly experienced drivers.

What's more, most of the chauffeurs can speak English, from basic to fluent, and customers can also access Avis' bilingual call centre providing vital information on the city.

The company is supplying the Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office with 20 Mercedes Benz S600s for VIP guests and 25 new environmentally friendly chauffeur-driven hybrid Smart cars to the exhibition's Swiss pavilion. In addition to this, Avis has also partnered with Xinlv travel agency as part of a joint project to provide vehicles for guests at 30 five-star hotels in Shanghai.

Long-running event

World Expo has been running for 150 years, giving countries from around the world including South Africa the opportunity to display their achievements and unique culture and to exchange ideas and developments on the world economy, culture, science and technology.

Highlights of this year's expo include a samba dancing and football extravaganza at the Brazil stand, cable car riding at the Swiss pavilion, an Olympic corner in the UK area and a hip-hop act on the German stand. Avis is also the official fleet sponsor of the Belgium pavilion, providing seven Buick GL8 and Lacrosse chauffeur-drive services.

For more information go to Avis' dedicated booking page for airport and chauffeur-drive rentals at avis.com.sg/expo2010/.