China’s outbound tourism gathers momentum

China’s outbound tourism market is showing good growth momentum and is expected to make a robust recovery amid the nation’s optimised Covid response measures and relaxed travel restrictions. According to travel portal Trip.com Group, bookings it received for international flight tickets rose by 145% year-on-year (y-o-y) during the three-day New Year’s Day holiday. The portal is expecting such bookings to increase by 260% during the Spring Festival holiday later this month. Airline international passenger volume saw a 70% increase over the holiday, recording its best performance since 2019, according to Flight AI, a database of Trip.com Group. In December, China optimised its Covid response measures, aimed at revitalising the economy and bringing people’s lives back on track. According to the latest travel policy, announced by the State Council’s Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism on Dec 27 and to take effect from next Monday, international passengers arriving in the Chinese mainland no longer need to quarantine or undergo a nucleic acid test on arrival. Responding to the adjustments, the National Immigration Administration released a notice on Dec 27 saying it will resume services of approving passport applications, and tourism and business permits for the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions on Jan 8.<br/>