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The quarantine upon arrival in China is history. The travel boom from China is still a long time coming. The reasons.
Two corona tests before departure, applying for a health code at the Chinese consulate and several days of isolation in a quarantine hotel: Traveling to China has cost a lot of patience and money in the last three years.
Legend:
The effort to be able to enter China was great. (Picture dated 01/08/23 from Beijing Capital International Airport)
REUTERS/Thomas Peter
Everything is different now. Since January 8, people traveling to China only have to show a single negative Covid test.
Travel boom in the third quarter
Outgoing tourism is gaining momentum again, but the big wave of travel from China is still missing. “The travel business picks up speed in the second quarter,” says Jacky Zhang, Managing Director of the travel agency D-Lux Travel. “The real boom, I think, will come in the third quarter.” There are various reasons for this.
1. Backlog at the passes
Millions of Chinese have expired passports. To protect against Corona, the responsible exit and entry authorities had only extended or reissued passports in exceptional cases. The backlog is correspondingly large.
It’s not easy to get an appointment.
Those wishing to travel must apply for an appointment online. Many places are fully booked, says manager Cathy when queuing in front of a passport office. “It’s not easy to get an appointment. The best thing to do is try the branches on the outskirts of town,” says Cathy.
2. Compulsory testing for travelers from China
Despite the opening, the Covid crisis in China is not over. The country is struggling with a huge wave of infections. Numerous countries have therefore introduced a test requirement for travelers from China. Morocco has even banned entry altogether.
Then hopefully the guidelines abroad will be less strict and a negative test will no longer be necessary.
This creates uncertainty for many travelers from China. Dolly Sang is therefore postponing her travel plans until spring. “Then hopefully the guidelines abroad will be less strict and there will no longer be a need for a negative test.”
Not only the entry quarantine falls on Sunday. The border between mainland China and Hong Kong is also reopening. Chinese nationals do not need a passport for the SAR, only a special identity card. The city is therefore one of the most sought-after travel destinations.
3. New Year’s holidays are spent at home
On January 22nd, China celebrates the Lunar New Year. Most Chinese people traditionally spend the week-long national holidays at home with their families. Many have refrained from family celebrations since the pandemic began.
We chat and laugh together. This is more important than holidays abroad.
Zeng, a student from Shanghai, also prefers to go home to his home province of Fujian for the New Year holidays: “We see our family during the New Year celebrations. We chat and laugh together. That’s more important than holidays abroad.”
The next opportunity for longer trips abroad will not be available until the beginning of October. Then the one-week holiday around the national holiday, the so-called Golden Week, begins in China.
4. Lack of flight capacity
Another reason why the travel boom is being delayed is the lack of flight capacity. The departure board at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport showed only around a dozen international flights for Sunday morning through Sunday afternoon.
Because of the pandemic, China had reduced the number of international flight connections to a minimum. The flight capacities have to be ramped up again first.
Missing passports, travel restrictions, home visits and no flights: All of this means that the travel boom from China is still a long way off.