skift take
This does not bode well for the United States, where Chinese tourists were the largest consumer market in 2019.
— Dawit Habtemariam
Chinese tourists are not rushing to obtain visas to visit the U.S. as they were before the pandemic, according to a State Department official speaking Saturday at IPW, a travel industry conference focused on international travel to Japan.
“The number of visa applications in China has already tripled from last year, but it is not at the level it was before,” said Julie Staft, assistant secretary for visa services. “We are still seeing a very small fraction of what we saw from China in 2019.”
That’s a big change. “China used to be the world’s largest visa issuing country,” she says. “We got more visas [allocations] More than anywhere else in China before the pandemic. ”
Millions of Chinese tourist visas are due for renewal next year. A US tourist visa is valid for 10 years and must be renewed. Staft said the State Department is preparing for the surge when it comes.
Alex Lasry, assistant secretary for travel and tourism at the International Trade Administration, said Chinese tourists to the United States are below 60% of pre-pandemic levels.
Before the pandemic, China was the top U.S. tourism market in terms of spending. Brand USA CEO and President Chris Thompson said in an interview with Skift last year that Chinese tourists spent more than $30 billion in 2019.
Get unlimited access to articles like this by subscribing to Skift Pro
Read {{monthly_count}} of {{monthly_limit}} free stories
Subscribe Now Get unlimited access to stories like this by subscribing to Skift Pro
The number of episodes will be reset to {{monthly_reset}}
Subscribe now
Get unlimited access to articles like this by subscribing to Skift Pro
Subscribe now
