BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) — In early April, Xiaoying and her husband boarded a plane from Beijing to Geneva to begin their honeymoon in the picturesque Swiss city.
The flight, which was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, resumed operations in February 2023, marking a significant revival of tourism among Chinese travelers.
“With the resumption of flights, there are more options for travel destinations,” Xiao said.
According to data from the Swiss Tourism Board, tourists from mainland China spent a total of 153,723 nights in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 92.2% year-on-year.
“The resumption of air flights between the two countries has greatly contributed to the rapid increase in Chinese tourists,” said Shi Ban, managing director of Switzerland-based LOTO Travel Agency AG. Visa procedures for Chinese travelers have also been simplified.
To meet the growing demand for international travel, China has increased flight capacity and expanded favorable visa policies for its citizens.
According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), scheduled international passenger flights have resumed to about 73% of pre-pandemic levels.
The number of flights between China and countries such as the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Italy, Qatar and Turkiye in April was higher than the number of flights in the same period in 2019, according to a report by aviation information service Flight Manager. It is said that it exceeded the provider.
International passenger flights now connect China with 70 countries, with five new destinations added since the pandemic: Kuwait, Serbia, Tanzania, Luxembourg and Papua New Guinea. According to CAAC, new international routes have recently opened, including Beijing-Madrid-São Paulo and Shenzhen-Mexico City.
Additionally, China has implemented visa-free policies for many countries to facilitate travel for its citizens.
Since Malaysia’s visa-free entry policy came into effect on December 1, 2023, 168,000 Chinese tourists have visited the country in the past month, an increase of 35.1 percent from November, Tourism Malaysia said. Director-General Manoharan Periasamy said.
Manoharan said that in order to increase the number of Chinese tourists, Malaysia is deploying staff fluent in Chinese at major entry points and working with airlines to provide direct flights from China’s second and third cities. By providing flights, they are improving the tourist experience.
So far, China has concluded agreements and arrangements to simplify visa procedures with more than 40 countries, and achieved comprehensive reciprocal visa exemptions with more than 20 countries, including Thailand, Singapore, the Maldives, and the UAE. Additionally, more than 60 countries and territories offer visa-free or visa-on-arrival policies to Chinese nationals.
Bolstered by these efforts, the resurgence of China’s outbound tourism industry continued to gain momentum. During the recent May Day holiday, Chinese tourists traveled to nearly 1.897 million countries and regions. The country has become the largest source of international tourists.
“The resurgence of Chinese outbound tourists will boost the Swiss tourism industry and the overall economy. People-to-people exchanges and mutual understanding will also be strengthened,” Shi said, adding that travel companies welcome Swiss tourists. It added that it is improving its services. The number of Chinese tourists will increase. ■
