China’s open for travel but few tourists are coming, or going
Peak summer in China — the first in four years without harsh Covid restrictions. Tickets for attractions like the Forbidden City in Beijing are selling out in minutes. Streets are crowded and subway stations are even more packed than usual. Foreign tourists, however, are few. For many, China is a step too far. The pandemic is gone, but the memory of how it was handled remains — images of deserted streets and barricaded buildings are hardly fodder for holiday brochures and tourism campaigns. Visa hassles, a lack of flights, idiosyncratic payment systems and the language barrier also limit China’s appeal to tourists from places such as North America and Europe. “If you go to the Forbidden City these days and find 20 or 30 foreigners, that would be a lot,” said Jay Li, a tour guide in China’s capital. “Most people come to China for business reasons and maybe tour around a bit. It’s certainly not comparable with the situation before Covid — foreign tourists are probably only about 20% of that level.” Even a plan to increase international flights won’t result in a sudden rush of tourists, or bring numbers anywhere near to pre-pandemic levels when China received about 136m visitors a year on average. China and the US have agreed to raise the number of round-trip flights to 24 a week by the end of October. Previously, the number of weekly flights between the two was 340. China also just lifted a ban on group tours to overseas destinations including the US, Australia, the UK, South Korea and Japan, easing the door open for outbound travel. The effect of that is likely to be muted too, given a general hesitancy to travel abroad after the pandemic scarred the nation’s economy and psyche. The main factor putting Chinese travelers off overseas trips is concern about safety in other countries, where they are fearful of getting an unfriendly reception, according to an April survey by Dragon Tail International. Also cited in polls by the company: health concerns, difficulty in getting documents such as visas, and the high cost. In the April survey, 58% of respondents said they either definitely wouldn’t leave mainland China in 2023 or were unsure about going abroad.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2023-08-18/general/china2019s-open-for-travel-but-few-tourists-are-coming-or-going
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China’s open for travel but few tourists are coming, or going
Peak summer in China — the first in four years without harsh Covid restrictions. Tickets for attractions like the Forbidden City in Beijing are selling out in minutes. Streets are crowded and subway stations are even more packed than usual. Foreign tourists, however, are few. For many, China is a step too far. The pandemic is gone, but the memory of how it was handled remains — images of deserted streets and barricaded buildings are hardly fodder for holiday brochures and tourism campaigns. Visa hassles, a lack of flights, idiosyncratic payment systems and the language barrier also limit China’s appeal to tourists from places such as North America and Europe. “If you go to the Forbidden City these days and find 20 or 30 foreigners, that would be a lot,” said Jay Li, a tour guide in China’s capital. “Most people come to China for business reasons and maybe tour around a bit. It’s certainly not comparable with the situation before Covid — foreign tourists are probably only about 20% of that level.” Even a plan to increase international flights won’t result in a sudden rush of tourists, or bring numbers anywhere near to pre-pandemic levels when China received about 136m visitors a year on average. China and the US have agreed to raise the number of round-trip flights to 24 a week by the end of October. Previously, the number of weekly flights between the two was 340. China also just lifted a ban on group tours to overseas destinations including the US, Australia, the UK, South Korea and Japan, easing the door open for outbound travel. The effect of that is likely to be muted too, given a general hesitancy to travel abroad after the pandemic scarred the nation’s economy and psyche. The main factor putting Chinese travelers off overseas trips is concern about safety in other countries, where they are fearful of getting an unfriendly reception, according to an April survey by Dragon Tail International. Also cited in polls by the company: health concerns, difficulty in getting documents such as visas, and the high cost. In the April survey, 58% of respondents said they either definitely wouldn’t leave mainland China in 2023 or were unsure about going abroad.<br/>
