Hopes for Lunar New Year tourism boom fizzle as Chinese stay home
BANGKOK (AP) — A hoped-for boom in Chinese tourism in Asia over next week's Lunar New Year holidays looks set to be more of a blip as most travelers opt to stay inside China if they go anywhere.
From the beaches of Bali to Hokkaido's powdery ski slopes, the hordes of Chinese often seen in pre-COVID days will still be missing, tour operators say.
It's a bitter disappointment for many businesses that had been hoping lean pandemic times were over after Beijing relaxed restrictions on travel and stopped requiring weeks-long quarantines. Still, bookings for overseas travel have skyrocketed, suggesting it's only a matter of time until the industry recovers.
"I think the tourists will return around the end of February or early March at the earliest," said Sisdivachr Cheewarattaporn, president of the Thai Travel Agents Association, noting that many Chinese lack passports, flights are limited and tour operators are still gearing up to handle group travel.
Covid-19 risks are another big factor as outbreaks persist following the policy about-face in China, he said in an interview. "People are possibly not ready, or just getting ready."
For now, the Chinese territories of Macao and Hong Kong appear to be the most favored destinations.
Just days before Sunday's start of the Lunar New Year, iconic tourist spots in the former Portuguese colony, like historic Senado Square and the Ruins of St. Paul's, were packed. Gambling floors at two major casinos were largely full, with groups of Chinese visitors sitting around the craps tables.
"I'm so busy every day and don't have time to rest," said souvenir shop owner Lee Hongsoi.
He said sales had recovered to about 70%-80% of the prepandemic days from nearly nothing just weeks ago.
Kathy Lin was visiting from Shanghai, partly because it was easy to get a visa but also because she was concerned about risks of catching Covid-19. "I don't dare to travel overseas yet," she said as she and a friend took photos near the ruins, originally the 17th century Church of Mater Dei.
That worry is keeping many would-be vacation goers at home even after China relaxed "zero Covid" restrictions that sought to isolate all cases with mass testing and onerous quarantines.
"The elderly in my family have not been infected, and I don't want to take any risks. There's also the possibility of being infected again by other variants," said Zheng Xiaoli, 44, an elevator company employee in southern China's Guangzhou.