BANGKOK (AP) — A hoped-for boom in Chinese tourism to Asia during next week’s Lunar New Year holiday appears to be more of a blip as most travelers choose to stay in China when going anywhere.
From the beaches of Bali to the powdery ski slopes of Hokkaido, the hordes of Chinese often seen in days before COVID will still be missing, tour operators say.
It’s a bitter disappointment for many companies who had hoped the days of the meager pandemic were over after Beijing eased travel restrictions and stopped requiring week-long quarantines. Still, bookings for outbound trips have skyrocketed, suggesting it’s only a matter of time before the industry recovers.
“I think the tourists will not return until late February or early March at the earliest,” said Sisdivachr Cheewarattaporn, president of the Thai Travel Agents Association, noting that many Chinese do not have passports, flights are limited and tour operators are still preparing to handle group tours.
COVID-19 risks are another important factor as the outbreaks continue after China’s political turnaround, he said in an interview. “Possibly people are not ready or are preparing.”
Currently, the Chinese areas of Macau and Hong Kong seem to be the most popular destinations.
Just days before the start of the Lunar New Year on Sunday, famous tourist attractions in the former Portuguese colony, such as historic Senado Square and the ruins of St. Paul’s, were packed. The arcades at two major casinos were mostly full, with groups of Chinese visitors seated around the craps tables.
“I’m so busy every day and I don’t have time to rest,” said gift shop owner Lee Hong-soi. He said sales have recovered to about 70% to 80% of the days before the pandemic, from almost nothing a few weeks ago.
Kathy Lin was visiting from Shanghai, partly because it was easy to get a visa, but also because she was concerned about the risks of catching COVID-19. “I don’t dare to go abroad yet,” she said as she and a friend snapped photos near the ruins, the originally 17th-century Church of the Mater Dei.
That concern is keeping many would-be holidaymakers at home, even after China eased “zero-COVID” restrictions that have attempted 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 chances. There is also the possibility of re-infection with other variants,” said Zheng Xiaoli, 44, an employee at an elevator company in southern China’s Guangzhou. Africa was on her bucket list before the pandemic, but despite yearning to go overseas, she said: “There are still uncertainties, so I will exercise restraint.”
Cong Yitao, a Beijing-based accountant, wasn’t worried about catching the virus as his whole family already had COVID-19. However, he has been deterred by testing restrictions and other restrictions imposed by some countries including the US, Japan, South Korea and Australia after China eased its pandemic lockdown.
“It seems like many countries are not welcoming us,” said Cong, who instead planned to head to a subtropical destination in China like Hainan Island or Xishuangbanna to enjoy the warm weather.
According to Trip.com, a major travel services company, overseas travel bookings for the Lunar New Year holiday increased more than fivefold from Jan. 21-27. But that was almost nothing the year before, when China’s borders were closed to most travelers.
Reservations for travel to Southeast Asia increased 10-fold, with Thailand being the top choice, followed by Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and Indonesia.
Travel to other popular destinations, such as the tropical holiday island of Bali and Australia, has been restricted by a lack of flights. But that is changing, new flights are added every day.
“You will certainly see an increase compared to last year when China was still closed, but I don’t think you will see a huge increase in outbound travelers to various destinations in Asia-Pacific, let alone Europe or the Americas. said Haiyan Song, professor of international tourism at Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Tourism Australia forecasts that spending by international travelers will surpass pre-pandemic levels within a year. Before the disruptions of COVID-19, Chinese accounted for nearly a third of tourist spending, nearly $9 billion.
Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport has ramped up staffing to handle more than 140,000 daily arrivals during the Lunar New Year rush, though only individual Chinese travelers will come for now — group tours from China have yet to resume.
As a bright orange sun set behind the ancient Wat Arun beside Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River, a Shanghai man, who would only use his last name Zhang, posed with an attendant in colorful traditional Thai silk costumes.
“It’s very cold in China and it’s summer weather in Thailand,” Zhang said, adding that he knows many people who booked tickets to escape the cold, humid weather of his hometown.
Still, for many Chinese, the allure of world travel has been eclipsed for now by a desire to go to their hometowns and meet their families, almost three years precisely since the first major outbreak of the coronavirus hit downtown Wuhan in one of its greatest disasters The modern era.
Isabelle Wang, finance officer in Beijing, has traveled to Europe, the Middle East and parts of Asia. After three years of slower living during the pandemic, her priority is reuniting with her family in Shangrao, a city in south-central China.
“We still have a lot of time in our lives and there will certainly be opportunities to go abroad later if we want to,” she said.
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Leung reported from Hong Kong and Macao. News assistant Caroline Chen in Beijing and Associated Press journalists Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Tassanee Vejpongsa and Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul in Bangkok, and Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia contributed to this report.