People Rush to Book Travel as Borders Finally Reopen
Chinese people have rushed to book overseas travel after Beijing announced it would reopen its borders next month.
Passport applications for Chinese citizens wishing to travel internationally will resume from 8 January, the immigration administration said.
It follows an earlier announcement on Monday that ended quarantine policies for inbound travellers.
Travel sites have since reported a spike in traffic.
But Chinese tourists will not have unfettered access to all countries.
Japan – one of the most popular destinations for Chinese travellers – has announced that “all travellers from China will have to show a negative Covid test on arrival, or quarantine for seven days,” because of the surge in cases there.
India has also said travellers from China, as well as some other countries, must show a negative Covid test when they arrive – though this was announced before Beijing’s easing of restrictions.
The easing of travel rules in China – the last part of the country’s zero-Covid policy – comes as the country battles a new wave of infections.
Resentment against the government’s the policy – which sparked rare public protests against President Xi Jinping in November – led to a relaxation of Covid restrictions across the country.
But an increase in Covid cases followed, with reports of hospitals overwhelmed and a shortage of drugs.
“The announcement on outbound travel on Tuesday came after Monday’s news, which axed quarantine rules for travellers arriving in China. It also scrapped a cap on the daily number of flights.”
On the same day, the National Health Commission announced that Covid would be formally downgraded to a Class B infectious disease on 8 January.
Before the relaxation of travel rules, people were “strongly discouraged from travelling abroad.” The sale of outbound group and package travel was banned, according to marketing solutions company Dragon Trail International.
Within half an hour of Monday’s notice that China’s borders would reopen, data from travel site Trip.com – cited in Chinese media – showed “searches for popular destinations had increased ten-fold year-on-year.”
Macau, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and South Korea were the most popular destinations.
In addition, Chinese travel agency Qunar saw flight enquiries on its website increase seven-fold within the first 15 minutes after the announcement, the China Daily reports.
Reuters /Shakirat Sadiq
