(Economic Observation) Good news continues

  China News Agency, Beijing, February 2. Title: Good news continues, China's outbound travel accelerates recovery

  Author Liu Wenwen

  During the Spring Festival of the Year of the Rabbit, many Chinese tourists went abroad to enjoy the "Chinese Year" overseas.

Today, the Spring Festival holiday has come to an end, but the enthusiasm for outbound travel has just picked up.

  Starting from February 6, China will pilot the resumption of national travel agencies and online travel companies operating outbound group tours and "air ticket + hotel" business for Chinese citizens to relevant countries, "adding fire" to the recovery of outbound travel.

Invite Chinese tourists online from multiple countries

  Since the orderly resumption of outbound tourism by Chinese citizens, many countries have responded positively and warmly welcome Chinese tourists.

  Philippine President Marcos issued an invitation, hoping that Chinese tourists will return to the Philippines and enjoy the natural scenery and cultural customs of this Southeast Asian country.

  Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health Anutin and other officials made a special trip to the airport, put up the slogan "China and Thailand are one family", and sent flowers and souvenirs to the first batch of passengers who arrived in Thailand after China optimized the entry-exit epidemic prevention policy.

  Indonesian Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno "proclaimed" from the air, saying that Indonesia "has prepared the red carpet for Chinese tourists."

Good prices for outbound travel

  With the gradual recovery of the tourism supply side, the price of outbound tourism has also ushered in good prices. After the festival, the prices of international flight tickets and overseas hotels have "dived".

  With the resumption of flights and encrypted news, the price of air tickets for international flights has dropped significantly.

According to statistics from the online travel platform Ctrip, as of the end of January, there were more than 40 domestic outbound resumption routes in February, and the average weekly resumption of flights exceeded 140.

From the price point of view, the price of 30% of the flights is lower than the average transaction price in the same period in 2019, and the price of about 10% of the flights is even more than 30% cheaper than in 2019.

  As Chinese tourists continue to return during the Spring Festival, overseas hotels have also gradually reduced their prices.

On the Qunar platform, the average hotel prices in Singapore, Bangkok, Phuket, Macau and Hong Kong have all dropped by about 10%.

As of January 30, the number of searches for visa services has nearly tripled compared to December last year, and products with a high search volume for outbound travel are concentrated in Bangkok, Phuket, and Chiang Mai in Thailand.

Tourism companies are in full swing to arrange outbound group tours

  Since the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China announced the resumption of outbound group travel business by national travel agencies and online travel companies on a pilot basis on February 6, Ctrip and its group business line launched nearly 100 outbound group travel products overnight, and actively contacted overseas partners to communicate and refine resources product.

  Up to now, Ctrip has launched nearly 700 outbound group travel products, covering 15 destination countries/regions, including group tours, semi-self-guided tours, private tours, and independent travel packages.

  "We are also in close contact with overseas travel agencies during the holidays. We are intensively planning for purchasing resources, formulating product launch plans, and reviewing products on the shelves. We don't have much rest throughout the holiday," Zhang Yan, Product Director of Ctrip Overseas Groups, said. The recovery of the tourism market still needs a process. We predict that starting from March, both the number of outbound and group tour products and the number of applicants will increase gratifyingly."

  The person in charge of Tongcheng Travel revealed to China News Agency that on February 6, the first outbound tour team of Tongcheng Travel will depart from Shanghai to Thailand, and it is expected to complete 6 trips in Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket and other tourist destinations in Thailand. Late 7th trip.

The group was fully booked a week in advance.

The full recovery of the tourism industry is imminent

  It is worth noting that the countries involved in the outbound group tourism business include many Southeast Asian countries.

Cheng Chaogong, chief researcher of Tongcheng Research Institute, said in an interview with China News Agency that the return of Chinese tourists is an extremely important driving force for the economic recovery of Southeast Asian countries.

For example, before the epidemic, the tourism industry accounted for about 15% of Thailand's total GDP, while Chinese tourists accounted for about one-third of Thailand's inbound tourists. The return of Chinese tourists will greatly stimulate the recovery of Thailand's economy.

In addition, as the largest trading partner of many economies in the world, the full recovery of China's international travel will drive the full recovery of global business, cultural and cultural exchanges, and inject vitality into the recovery of the global economy.

  Liu Ran, a researcher at Zhongyuan Securities, pointed out that the recovery of the outbound travel market needs to be gradual.

In the initial stage of market recovery, the demand for business visits, visiting relatives abroad, and studying abroad is the main demand.

With the gradual recovery of flight capacity and the orderly development of visa business, the entry and exit market will further recover.

At that time, the recovery of China's tourism market will show a trend that domestic travel will drive outbound travel, and peripheral travel will drive long-term cross-border travel. It is expected that the "May 1st" Golden Week or summer vacation will experience more obvious market changes.

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