Industry
By Jin Yingying
China has resumed outbound tourist groups travelling to a selected number of places since Feb 6.
A pilot program by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism launched on Feb 6 allows travel agencies to offer outbound group travel to Chinese citizens for them to visit 20 selected countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Russia, Switzerland, Hungary, New Zealand, Fiji, Cuba, and Argentina.
According to the National Immigration Administration, the number of people entering and exiting the country reached 676,000 on Feb 7, a new high since the epidemic.
The first outbound travel group departed for Bali, Indonesia on Feb 8 from Hangzhou. More international flights are scheduled to resume in March and ticket prices are expected to fall as a new season in aerospace will begin, according to a travel agency staff.
As of Feb 7, the number of cross-border air ticket orders for February and March increased by 87% and overseas hotel orders increased by 52% compared to the previous two months.
Hangzhou was ranked fourth in the most popular outbound departure cities, while Macau, Hong Kong, and Bangkok were among the top three popular destinations for outbound travel.
Policy updates also gear up for cross-border travel.
Hangzhou welcomed its first inbound tour group from Hong Kong SAR on Feb 15 since the epidemic.
As South Korea restarted issuing visas for travelers from China, China resumed issuing short-term visas for South Koreans from Feb 18. The 72/144-hour visa-free transit policy was also revalidated.