Tourists visit Merlion Park in Singapore on December 21, 2023. The reciprocal visa exemption agreement between China and Singapore, which will come into effect from February 9, 2024, will further facilitate people-to-people exchanges.Xinhua News Agency
Analysts say an influx of Chinese tourists over the past few months has helped Southeast Asia’s tourism industry recover from the pandemic-induced downturn.
China has long been one of the key travel markets for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, but decisions made last year by Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand to waive entry requirements for Chinese tourists meant that the first two months of this year Tourism income increased.
John Paolo Rivera, deputy director of the Dr. Andrew L. Tan Tourism Center at the Asian Management Institute in the Philippines, said visa-free entry for Chinese tourists is a “boost” to increase revenue for ASEAN’s tourism industry. said.
Rivera said Chinese tourists are the biggest spenders among Southeast Asian travelers.
He said that in Southeast Asia, “in addition to the volume of Chinese tourists, Chinese consumption habits are driving up consumer spending and tourism’s contribution to GDP”, adding that tourism spending has increased significantly due to the impact of the pandemic on ASEAN’s travel industry. He pointed out that it is helping the company recover from its losses.
Chinese tourist spending probably has the biggest impact on Singapore.
According to official figures, the city-state received 13.6 million international visitors last year, with China among the top three source markets. According to the Singapore Tourism Board, tourism receipts reached $15 billion in the first nine months of last year, with Chinese tourists being the biggest spenders, totaling more than $1.7 billion.
Flight connectivity
The Council expects the recovery in the tourism sector to continue this year due to improved global air connectivity and the implementation of 30-day visa-free reciprocal travel between China and Singapore, which began on 9 February. There is.
Yu Hong, a senior research fellow at the Institute of East Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore, said the reciprocal visa-free agreement had increased the number of Chinese people visiting Singapore, especially during the Chinese New Year period.
Mr Yu said Singapore has always been a popular destination among Chinese tourists due to its geographical proximity, cultural similarities and numerous direct flights to various Chinese cities. There is.
In Malaysia, officials welcomed passengers on China Eastern’s first flight from Kunming, Yunnan province, to Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur on March 16.
Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board director-general Manoharan Periasamy said in a statement that the new route is a “great opportunity” to attract more Chinese tourists, especially after the visa-free policy comes into effect on December 1. .
This year, Malaysia is targeting 27.3 million international tourist arrivals, of which 5 million are expected to be from China.
Meanwhile, according to a report by Thai government spokesperson Chai Wacharoenke, 3.96 million foreign tourists arrived in Thailand from January 1 to February 8, of which 730,000 were from China. It topped the list with 747 people.
According to online travel agency Trip.com, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand on March 1 increased by more than 30% compared to the same period last year, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Qin Jing, vice president of Trip.com Group, said the implementation of mutual visa exemption in March will have a significant positive impact on the growth of tourism in both countries.
