Tag: china tourism

Recovery in China’s domestic tourism sector is picking up pace thanks to the summer holiday travel rush, CGTN has reported. Shanghai students are back on campus and the World Expo Museum is finally getting a break. In July and August, the museum welcomed 60,000 tourists, a big jump from previous months. Tourists still need to book in advance to visit, but that hasn’t stopped them from coming. And most of the visitors are young local students, the CGTN report said. “We saw an obvious increase. In July and August, we were seeing 1,500 or 1,800 every day, 15 or 20 ... Read more

China’s biggest airlines could provide some much-needed encouragement for an aviation industry starved of good news when they report earnings later this week, Bloomberg has reported. While the coronavirus will still likely saddle Air China Ltd, China Eastern Airlines Corp. and China Southern Airlines Co. with losses for the latest quarter, financial statements from the so-called Big 3 may point to a nascent recovery in in air travel thanks to demand in their vast domestic market. July traffic figures were promising, with passenger numbers for the three airlines rising about 25% from June as travel within China picked up, said the ... Read more

China has decided to introduce the Seventh Freedom of the Air on a trial basis in the Hainan Free Trade Port, in the southernmost tropical island province. This move allows foreign carriers to operate flights between two other countries, without the need to touch down in the airline’s home country, CGTN has reported. For example, under the Seventh Freedom, the US could operate flights directly from Haikou, the capital city of Hainan Province, to Tokyo, Japan, and Air France could transport passengers from Sanya, Hainan to Los Angeles, US. The freedoms of the air are a set of commercial aviation ... Read more

When will Chinese tourists return? That’s the question foremost on the minds of south-east and far-east destinations. Asian tourism has been ravaged by the pandemic and Chinese tourists, regarded as the largest spenders in the region, hold the key to recovery. According to South China Morning Post, clues can be gleaned from observing how movement resumes within the Middle Kingdom, and the early signs are positive. On May 28, The Economist reported that some 115 million Chinese tourists travelled during the Labour Day holiday, from May 1 to 5, “a healthy 60% of last year’s number”. Travel data platform ForwardKeys ... Read more

With lockdowns beginning to ease, many countries are starting to think about how to restart tourism, a vital economic engine. Even so, international tourist numbers could fall by up to 80% in 2020, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). But, in a normal pre-coronavirus year, which were the most visited destinations? France is the world’s number one destination for international tourists, according to the most recent figures from UNWTO. Almost 90 million people visited the country in 2018. Spain isn’t far behind, with over 82 million visitors. The United States, China and Italy complete the top five. ... Read more

Hotel bookings in China have returned to about 50% of pre-Covid levels, while airlines resumed operations at more than half of their capacity. China has decided to extend the exemption of value-added taxes for the tourism industry until the end of the year, thereby aiding the speedy recovery of the sector, as part of its efforts to shore up consumption. The epidemic plunged hotel occupancy rates to single digits in February, but the numbers have since bounced back to around 50%, based on information from operators and industry experts. Midmarket hotels are faring better than both high-end and low-end properties. ... Read more

Singapore and China will launch a “fast lane” arrangement early next month to help encourage essential travel. The travel will be essentially for business and official purposes, as both countries emerge from the coronavirus pandemic with control measures in place. The arrangement would first apply to Singapore and six provinces or municipalities directly under the Chinese central government – Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, said Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in a statement. This arrangement will be gradually expanded to the other Chinese provinces and municipalities, according to a report by The Straits Times. Both countries agreed ... Read more

Based on the number of issued air tickets, China’s domestic air travel has reached more than 50% of what it was during the same period last year. This is according to data collected and analysed by travel analytics company, ForwardKeys. In addition, analysis of flight ticketing data reveals a significant uptick in last-minute domestic flight bookings in China between May 11 and 21. During that period, the lead time between ticketing and travel shortened dramatically; 72% of flight tickets were issued within 4 days of the travel date, compared with 51% at the equivalent point in 2019. This phenomenon is ... Read more

The Chinese Embassy in Ireland has reminded its passport holders that they must not transit two Schengen countries at one time. The advisory was for those stuck in the Schengen areas due to border closures, travel bans and other restrictions amid the Coronavirus outbreak. Through a notice published on its website, the Chinese Embassy noted that many citizens are planning to return to China with repatriation flights from the Schengen countries such as the Netherlands and Belgium. The Embassy reminds these citizens that they must not transit in two or more Schengen area countries consecutively as they may face penalties. ... Read more

China’s tourism sector showed great signs of recovery over the May Day holiday with 115 million trips made, mostly by younger people emerging from weeks of coronavirus lockdown, according to government data and operators. The five-day holiday period from May 1 was an important test for the country’s tourism industry, one of the sectors hardest hit by the coronavirus. News agency Reuters said the total of 115 million trips over the holiday was down 41% from the 195 million over the same period last year. But the figure beat expectations of about 90 million trips and was a hopeful sign, ... Read more

Chinese tourism is back in action and ready to welcome tourists from all over the world. About 70% of China’s tourist attractions reopened on Thursday itself, according to China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. More sites including the Forbidden City in Beijing, reopened on Friday, news agency Reuters has reported. Staff at the entrance to the Gubei Water Town checked visitors’ temperatures and health tracking codes. And inside, they directed tourists to stand one metre apart and stores used ropes to keep large crowds from forming. Everyone wore masks. Room bookings also picked up since Thursday after Beijing and nearby ... Read more

The initial signs of recovery are here. Right in China, the epicentre of the corona outbreak, many of the tourist sites are opening up. There is not too much of a rush anywhere, but airline ticket sales are open again. According to Yevgeny Glotov, the head of marketing at China Travel, carriers are already making plans for the coming months. “Yesterday there was news that all the hospitals, opened specially for the coronavirus, were closed in Wuhan. All patients have been discharged. Our partners also informed us that Hainan Airlines intends to resume flights on the Moscow-Beijing route at the ... Read more

Home-stay business in the Xinjiang Uygur of Northwest China is flourishing, as the winter tourism getting momentum. Local authorities are striving to exploit the favourable atmosphere had has been offering than 130 tourism activities through March, and major scenic spots provide free or discounted skiing and dining tickets. It is reported that almost 2.1 million tourists visited the area during the recent three-day New Year’s Day holiday, which is 40.58 per cent more than that of last year. Revenue for tourism during this period was USD 246 million, showing a year-on-year increase of 46.86 per cent. “Tourists have increased a ... Read more

National Palace Museum China has more than 30,000 scenic spots and tourist attractions, among which 259 have 5A-level ratings, the highest rating for Chinese tourist sites, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. However, the ministry also noted that during the first 10 months of 2018, over 200 tourist sites had been de-listed, demoted, or warned for poor management, poor service or a worsening environment. China has a tourism-rating classification system which rates a tourist attraction from A to 5A for its overall tourism quality. Top-level sites include the National Palace Museum, the Summer Palace, the West Lake in ... Read more

Hainan, China’s southern province plans to construct a scenic highway around the island in the first half of 2019 to boost tourism. It was informed by the provincial transport department. The new highway, which stretch around 1,040 kilo meters will link 12 cities and counties in Hainan. The highway will be built with consideration for plants and cultural landscapes protection.  According to the construction plan, the highway will provide tourists with ocean views on one-fifth of the dual-lane highway, along which a total of 46 tourism stations to be built. The highway will be construction with a number of high-tech ... Read more