Since March 15, China has allowed group travel to forty countries. After three years of border closures related to the pandemic, Chinese tourists are eagerly awaited, including...China: the recovery of travel is slow, some destinations are doing well Chinese tourists in front of the Arc de Triomphe, on the Champs-Élysées, March 14, 2023. REUTERS - GONZALO FUENTES Text by: Stéphane Lagarde Follow 3 min Since March 15, China has allowed group travel to forty countries. After three years of border closures related to the pandemic, Chinese tourists are eagerly awaited, especia

China: the recovery of travel is slow, some destinations are doing well

Chinese tourists in front of the Arc de Triomphe, on the Champs-Élysées, March 14, 2023. REUTERS - GONZALO FUENTES

Text by: Stéphane Lagarde Follow

3 min

Since March 15, China has allowed group travel to forty countries. After three years of border closures related to the pandemic, Chinese tourists are eagerly awaited, especially for the May 1st holidays. But recovery will take time.

Advertising

From our correspondent in Beijing,

Next to posters for the beaches and shopping paradises of Southeast Asia and the Middle East, those showing the greener landscapes of European countries are now spread behind the counter of this tour operator north of Beijing. The shop has just reopened and we are slowly preparing for the holidays of May 1st, explains the seller. "Most of our group trips should fill up. Some have been waiting for this for three years, he says. At the same time, tickets have increased and we are far from the pre-Covid situation in terms of travel proposals.

Visa waiver

According to state media, overseas travel sales are booming for Labor Day. The reality on the ground is more mixed. The price of air tickets remains high, Chinese holidays are shortened to revive the economy and it takes time to make visas, says North Travel International, reached by phone. "If you want to leave on May 1, you have to register at least two weeks in advance otherwise you don't have time to do the visas," says the tour operator. For Europe, we have the France-Italy-Switzerland package that works well. But here too, the process is relatively slow, it takes a week to ten days.

Some countries such as Egypt, much applauded by the official media, offer visa exemptions for Chinese tourists. While Japan and South Korea, contrary to what is said in the Chinese media, remain closed to group travel, say tour operators. Beijing, through its "tourism diplomacy," is likely punishing the fact that Seoul and Tokyo imposed restrictions on Chinese tourists when China reopened this winter.

South Poles and Northern Lights

Among the best-selling destinations: "shopping trips" in Malaysia for example. Broken starting prices, but obligation to visit ten shopping centers on site in seven days.

The real recovery of group travel should anyway wait a few more months, according to Rocket Travel. "For the summer holidays, 'school trips' to Singapore are in high demand: holidays for parents and English classes for children," says Zao. We also already have requests for Antarctica this winter. Seventeen days of travel: Argentina, plus boat to the South Pole. In Europe, what works best is the France-Switzerland-Italy tour. The Moscow-Murmansk combo, on the other hand, is less successful, maybe people are a little scared (laughs).

Decline of the Northern Lights in favor of European classics, not to mention Laos by TGV, one of the favorite destinations of Chinese retirees, it seems. Even if for a while, it is mainly domestic tourism that has benefited from the lifting of health restrictions in China.

► Read also: In Paris, the restart of tourism disrupted by the absence of Chinese customers in 2022

China: the recovery of travel is slow, some destinations are doing well

China: the recovery of travel is slow, some destinations are doing well

Visa waiver

South Poles and Northern Lights

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest