China Government, Business Community Hint at Travel Recovery
The last week has seen several points of optimism around the resumption of outbound travel from China, as domestic trends move towards relaxing restrictions. Furthermore, actions taken by China’s government and business stakeholders point to the beginnings of an outbound travel recovery in the Middle Kingdom.
The city of Nanjing has been reassigned its low-risk area status, after the implementation of strict epidemic control measures. Domestic flights are back on track at Nanjing Lukou Airport, and outdoor tourist attractions are running at 50% capacity, after several infection cases in the area saw travel restrictions implemented. The southern economic powerhouse of Guangzhou has also seen some tourism restrictions lifted after an earlier scare was handled effectively, with tourism, exhibition and entertainment venues now authorised to reopen at 75% capacity. This comes after nearby Macao saw nucleic acid test requirements for outbound and inbound travellers relaxed, with travellers now required to test negative within seven days instead of within 48 hours.
China’s capital will also see the Beijing Universal Resort officially opening for a trial run on September 1st, with the Grand Hotel and Nuo Hotel opening to invited guests only. To the south, in Hunan province, the tourism hotspot of Zhangjiajie has been bumped down to low-risk status, with traffic checkpoints being stopped and public transport back up and running again. To the west, Sichuan is back open again for cross-provincial group tours, with air ticketing and hotels resuming operation in the province.
Perhaps of greatest interest to international destinations is a move by China’s business and government decision-makers to start a dialogue with international partners around the international travel recovery. China’s Trip.com Group is capitalising on new insights from their digital platform that suggest a spike European travel interest from China, and is partnering with European travel and hospitality companies to secure prime marketing positions prior to China’s international travel resumption. So far, they’ve concluded agreements with luxury players The Londoner and Millennium Hotels and Resorts, in addition to many more companies in different European travel market segments. The Trip.com Group’s suite of services to its European partners will include the latest market insights from their wide-reaching platform, in addition to promotions such as flash sales when the market recovery hits.
An encouraging message has also come from the Chinese authorities, as Deputy Director of Civil Aviation Administration of China Cui Xiaofeng recently met with International Civil Aviation Organization secretary-general Juan Carlos Salazar. Most notably, Cui emphasised that the restart and recovery of the aviation industry would require all countries to work together, mentioning that China is willing to continue strengthening exchanges and cooperation with other countries under the framework of the International Civil Aviation Organization. Cui underlines this as key to accelerating the recovery and development of the global civil aviation industry.
Whether these initiatives are indicative of an impending resumption of Chinese international travel remains to be seen, though moves by Trip.com Group do hint at increased confidence among its leadership for their investments in Europe paying off. As Tencent has made similar moves in South Korea and other destinations in East Asia, it’s entirely possible that the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration’s latest statements are simply making public what the countries tech leadership have known for a while.
