China’s travel industry is eyeing a recovery in 2023 after the country dropped its interprovincial travel restrictions and international quarantine requirements, but hesitation and caution still remain in the short term.
Travel agents across China don’t expect demand to immediately surge following the lifting of pandemic-related travel restrictions, due to various factors such as the spread of the virus, the country’s exit policy for overseas travel and precautionary measures taken by other countries.
“Right now, travelers are in the panic period of reopening,” said Sun Yan, a travel agent based in Xiamen, a city in southeastern Fujian province. She said that while tourists have been discouraged from traveling in recent months due to concerns over COVID-19, the situation will improve once infections begin to ease.
Sun, whose company manages domestic and international trips, said business for outbound travel had dried up during the pandemic.
“Only clear instructions for resuming travel abroad will bring real recovery to the outbound tourism sector, which has been struggling to survive,” she added.
According to officials, China will allow nationals to resume trips overseas in an “orderly” manner. Its immigration authority announced Tuesday that it would resume issuing and renewing passports for citizens who wish to go abroad, as well as entry permits for Hong Kong.
The government said it would “further optimize” foreign nationals' visa applications for business, study or family reunions, without offering clear timelines. Uncertainty also remains over when the government will start issuing tourist visas.
“The outbound tourism market now is taking a wait-and-see attitude because factors such as international politics are complicated to predict,” said Chen Suya, who previously worked at travel agency HIS Holiday.
Since China abruptly dismantled its “zero-COVID” policy, the country has experienced a surge in infections. The resulting concerns over the emergence of new variants have driven several countries to impose entry restrictions on arrivals from China.
India last week mandated a negative COVID-19 test result for travelers from China and other Asian countries, while Japan, the U.S., Italy and Taiwan this week announced similar measures aimed at curbing the spread of the virus.
Many Chinese nationals overseas who hadn’t been able to travel home for Lunar New Year celebrations due to Beijing’s strict zero-COVID policy seem eager to do so now. Inquiries and bookings for international flights to China in mid-January have increased following the announcement of eased travel restrictions, two ticket agents based in the country said.
But the growth that domestic travel initially experienced after China’s COVID-19 policy U-turn has dwindled in recent weeks, and people are now staying home to limit their exposure to the virus.
Song Zhimin, a tour operator from Wanda International Travel Service in Qingyuan, Guangdong province, said the easing of cross-provincial travel restrictions has done little to stimulate business.
“More tourists are reluctant to travel at this time,” Song said. “For group tours, many tourist attractions are offering a variety of different special fees, but it hasn’t boosted the demand for bookings flowing to our company.”
Chen Yufeng, the owner of guest homes on Gulang Island off the coast of Xiamen, said he was exhilarated to see an increase in bookings at the beginning of December when the country started to abandon its zero-tolerance approach to the virus, but cancellations soon flooded in, especially for visits scheduled for the end of year holidays.
Despite the slump in bookings, industry insiders believe this period is the “darkness before dawn,” and many are optimistic about the recovery of the industry.
Various travel and ticket agents believe April or May is an important time for turning the sluggish industry around.
“The tourism industry’s recovery is on the horizon, as people’s desire to travel will gradually return during the dense holiday periods, which is within three months,” said Wang Weizhen, a flight ticket agent from Meituan.
“After lockdowns from time to time over the past three years, people’s desire to travel will continue to rise in the days ahead,” Chen Yufeng said.
Lan Xiang, director of Qunar’s Big Data Research Institute, predicted that the summer of 2023 may see a peak in inbound and outbound travel as exit policies for Chinese nationals, visa policies for foreign travelers and airline capacity are gradually restored.
“It will still take some time for international flights to return to pre-COVID levels, and prices will remain high as a result,” Lan was quoted as saying in domestic media reports.
According to media reports, within 30 minutes of the announcement of eased travel restrictions on Monday night, searches for popular international destinations increased tenfold on Ctrip.com, a leading online travel platform in China, while Tongcheng Travel saw real-time search volume for international flight tickets increase by 850%.
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