A Welcome Return
The resumption of outbound tourism in China is set to speed up revival of travel-related businesses and tourism revenue of countries across the world
Fresh flowers, banners displaying welcoming messages, and a group of officials and local tourism operators greeted two Chinese tourist groups when they stepped into Bangkok, Thailand, on 6 February. After a three-year COVID-19-induced break, China resumed outbound group travel to 20 countries, including Thailand, Indonesia and New Zealand, on 6 February. Three African countries, namely Egypt, Kenya and South Africa, were also in the list.
These first two groups of travellers to Thailand from Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province in south
China, were welcomed at Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport by officials from the Thai tourism authority and the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, among others.
The move came after the country downgraded its management of COVID-19 from that of a Class A infectious disease to that of a Class B one on 8 January. Resuming outbound travel is one of the measures undertaken as part of China’s adjustment of its COVID19 response.
Source of revenue
Acknowledging the contribution Chinese tourists make to Thailand’s tourism economy, which makes up around a fifth of its GDP, Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said at the welcome ceremony at the airport, “Our thanks go out to China, the Chinese tour operators and the Chinese tourists themselves for their continued confidence in Thailand as a preferred holiday destination.”
“As a tourism practitioner, I myself want to participate in the first batch of outbound tourism groups after the resumption,” Xu Xiaolei, CBO of the CYTS Tours Holding Co. Ltd., one of China’s leading travel agencies, told Beijing Review.
The tourism industry suffered during the pandemic. “In the past three years, whether it be travel agencies, airlines, visa services, hospitality or consumer
international tourists after Australia, and spending by Chinese visitors hit 1.7 billion New Zealand dollars ($1.07 billion) in 2019, according to the country’s statistics agency Stats NZ.
For countries that rely on tourism revenue, the comeback of Chinese tourists has brought hopes of economic rebound and, more importantly, adds optimism and helps them to pull through from a possible economic downturn.
The effect of stronger tourism activity due to the resumption of China’s outbound group tours could boost Malaysia’s GDP by at least 1 percent, UOB Global Economics & Market Research said on 3 February, according to Xinhua News Agency.
Rebound of tourism industry
Although the outbound travel business has not been active in the past three years, the communication and exchanges between Chinese travel agencies and overseas tourism enterprises have never ceased, according to Xu.
China’s outbound tourism supply chain is ready for market recovery. “The exchanges and communication between travel agencies in China and reception links at destinations such as overseas consulates, tourism bureaus, hotels, and airlines have never stopped,” he said.
However, due to the pandemic, “we need to admit that many overseas travel agencies and some other tourism-related resources have undergone changes, which has also generated challenges for the recovery of outbound travel,” he explained.
Particularly, the impact on small tourism agencies overseas was quite obvious. “We will help some local travel agencies to restore their reception capacity as soon as possible,” Xu said.