Chinese tourists can now travel to over 70 countries as restrictions relax

Saturday, August 12, 2023

Following the relaxation of its most recent COVID-19 travel restrictions, China has raised the number of nations that its high-spending tourists are permitted to visit by more than 70.

The choice is being made as the number of international aircrafts entering and leaving the nation progressively approaches pre-pandemic levels.

After the virus was originally discovered in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019, China imposed harsh lockdowns, severe internal travel restrictions, and nearly closed its borders.

The administration has been reluctant to begin issuing passports, welcoming foreign tourists, and allowing its residents to travel abroad even though those limitations started to be relaxed late last year.

The expanded options for travel began on Thursday.

The government agencies in charge will provide businesses in the tourism sector with the necessary guidance for the implementation, the Foreign Ministry said.

“We would want to take this opportunity to advise all travelers heading abroad to be well-prepared before each trip, to keep well and safe, to behave politely while traveling, to enjoy their vacation, and to return home safely.”

Chinese tourists are noted for blowing a lot of money on hotels, tours, trinkets, and designer labels. They typically travel in groups set up by agencies.

According to business consulting firm McKinsey and Company, they generated USD 255 billion in revenue in 2019 and traveled and spent more overall than any other nationality before the pandemic.

Given the relative ease of acquiring visas and the accessibility of flights, Thailand, Japan, Australia, and EU nations like Germany have been among the major winners of Chinese tourist spending.

Yoshihiko Isozaki, the deputy chief cabinet secretary of Japan, said on Thursday that during talks between their leaders in November, Japan and China decided to revive people-to-people interactions.

According to Isozaki, the Japanese government also intends to encourage frequent human encounters between the two sides.

Chinese group visitors will return to Japan for the first time in more than three years if activities by Chinese tour companies resume, however it is uncertain how quickly this would happen.

This would be a significant boost for Japanese inbound tourism.

According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, there were 9.6 million Chinese visitors to Japan in 2019, or 30% of the 31.8 million foreign visitors that visited the country overall before the coronavirus outbreak.

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