The Chinese are coming...

As China lifted most of its travel restrictions and waived mandatory quarantine for inbound travelers to mainland China on Sunday, 8^th January, millions of tourists are poised to step into the world’s tourism stage, raising hopes of a rebound for the global hospitality industry. This is also bound to be a huge boost for several countries that rely on Chinese tourists.

However, Preparations by countries and regions for the return of Chinese tourists are mixed.

• The European Union (E.U.) has strongly urged its 27 members to place testing and masking requirements as the Chinese return to popular cities there.
• Closer home, Hong Kong will require visitors to show a negative PCR test and has for now, capped the daily number of visitors to 60,000.
• South Korea has halted all direct flights to Jeju Island (a favourite destination for Chinese tourists) and requires travelers from China to take a PCR test on arrival and quarantine if found to be sick.
• Japan is requiring visitors to provide proof of a negative PCR test before arriving and to take another test when they arrive.
• Thailand, which is anticipating welcoming 300,000 Chinese visitors between January and March this year, will require visitors to have two vaccine shots as well as have medical insurance to cover COVID treatment if they fall sick.
• A rising number of other countries, including the United States, Canada, and France, have insisted on negative Covid-19 testing prior to entry.

Besides facing restrictions, many Chinese must renew their passports and apply for visas again. Hence, a full rebound for international travel may take time. According to Steve Saxon at McKinsey’s Shenzhen office, China averaged about 12 million outbound air passengers per month in 2019, but COVID annihilated 95% of those numbers since then. He predicts that around 6 million Chinese would be the monthly number by around the 2^nd quarter of 2023.

The top destinations favoured by the Chinese are in the Asia Pacific region with Australia, Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong leading the pack. The United States and the United Kingdom also rank among the top 10. Elsewhere in the world, Cambodia, Mauritius, Malaysia, Taiwan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Philippines and the Maldives are also likely to benefit from the return of Chinese tourists, as per research conducted by Capital Economics.

When considering where to go, the travel plans of many Chinese will depend on the various  testing requirements, the high price of flying and the ease of obtaining visas. Meanwhile, Chinese authorities expect to resume flights back to 90% of pre-pandemic levels by the end of January. After a gap of three years, direct scheduled flights from China to the Maldives will resume on 18 January. Before Covid-19, China was the single biggest tourist source market for the Maldives.

Sri Lankan Tourism authorities say that they are studying the pros and cons of inviting Chinese tourists to the island. Any decision will be based on Health Ministry guidelines, says its Tourism Development Authority Chairman, adding that they will monitor the process so that it is beneficial to Sri Lanka.

Expect to see some ‘Conflict’ between the tourism and the political and health officials in some countries in the coming months.

Hospitality Sri Lanka

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