Rebound seen in flights from Shanghai to Sanya

Flights between Shanghai and Hainan have resumed at a steady pace, thanks to the stabilization of the COVID-19 outbreak and the relaxation of pandemic prevention and control policies in the island of Hainan, authorities and tourism officials said.

The number of passengers going to Sanya from around the country increased by 93 percent on Saturday and Sunday, compared with the number in the previous weekend, while the number of passengers to Haikou, the provincial capital of Hainan, increased by 92 percent, said online travel agency Qunar.com, one of China’s leading online tourism platforms.

Shanghai-Sanya passenger volume increased 1.5 times over that of the previous weekend, according to Qunar.com.

“Passenger volume at the Meilan International Airport in Haikou has risen steadily in June, compared with that in May. Meilan operates about 350 flights a day, transporting around 36,000 passengers. The occupancy rates of flights to and from Shanghai and Haikou has remained at about 85 percent,” said Huang Shuoguang, an official at the Meilan airport.

Hainan has always been a popular destination among Chinese tourists, especially Sanya, a coastal city at the southern tip of Hainan, dubbed the Oriental Hawaii.

There were 17 flights from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport to Sanya Phoenix International Airport from June 20 to Sunday, a total of 3,946 seats. These flights were mainly operated by Juneyao Airlines and Shanghai Airlines, a subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines.

The airlines have switched to using the Boeing 787 Dreamliner for Shanghai-Sanya flights to increase passenger capacity since Saturday, said a Juneyao Airlines official.

Along with the rebound in tourism, data from Ctrip, a major online ticketing service company in China, showed that the lowest price for a ShanghaiSanya air ticket will rise from about 700 yuan ($104) the past few weeks to more than 1,000 yuan starting on Friday.

“Shanghai and its surrounding cities have always been one of the key tourist sources for Sanya. We will provide more and higher-quality resources to ensure tourists have a better travel experience here,” said Ye Jialin, director of the Sanya tourism promotion bureau.

Deng Yongbo, secretary-general of the Sanya Tourism Association, said room occupancy rates in the premier luxury hotels in Yalong Bay and Haitang Bay, have rebounded strongly from the hit inflicted by the pandemic, with many now having over 80 percent occupancy. Some hotels are reporting rates of over 90 percent.

“Though specific figures are not available yet, we have learned that tourists visiting the major scenic destinations in Sanya are returning in an impressive way,’’ said Deng.

For instance, the occupancy rate of Sanya Atlantis has exceeded 90 percent at Haitang Bay from the middle of June, and their hotel reservations are close to full at the end of the month, said Qian Jiannong, chairman and CEO of Fosun Tourism Group, also known as FOLIDAY.

“To welcome the tourists’ return, Sanya Atlantis will launch a series of super summer vacation fantasy shows, festivals and various children’s summer camps from Saturday through to Aug 31, to rekindle the tourism enthusiasm. With the normalization of residents’ lives in Beijing and Shanghai, it is believed that Hainan will become the first stop for holidaymakers after a long time without vacationing,” said Qian.