China gearing up for international travel , borders opened to 49 countries
Travel Biz News —
China is ready for international travel and has already opened its borders to 36 European and 13 Asian countries, Dr Adam Wu said at Arabian Travel Market 2021 in Dubai today.
Addressing delegates via video link during ATM conference panel session, Dr Adam Wu, CEO, CBN Travel & MICE, which has offices in Beijing and London, confirmed that a total of 105 airlines including 19 Chinese carriers are now flying to 55 different countries culminating in 294 round trip flights per week , quoting data of China’s Civil Aviation Administration.
About marketing to Chinese consumers, Dr Wu recommended, “Chinese speaking staff, a Chinese language website and post regularly on Chinese social media platforms such as DouYin (TikTok), (which as of Q1 2020 had over 800 million active users).”
Furthermore, during a China-focused study on both traffic and shopper insights, Swiss research agency mind-set found that due to China’s robust consumer confidence and relentless desire to travel, 2021 will mark the beginning of a robust return to growth for the retail travel sector and should witness an increase of more than 200 per cent in international departures during the year to reach around 30 million international departures.
China is due to reach its pre-Covid levels in 2023, when outbound traffic is forecast to reach 88 million following 108 per cent growth in 2022 and a further 44 per cent in 2023.
The number of Chinese visitors travelling to Dubai, rose year-on-year by 15.5 per cent to 989,000 tourists in 2019 and should be one of the M.E region’s first destinations to benefit from an overall increase in China’s appetite for overseas leisure travel.
Another panelist, Zayed R. Alzayani, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism for the Kingdom of Bahrain and Chairman of Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority, revealed that it was a part of Bahrain’s international strategy to encourage more inbound tourists from China.
Other panelists included Helen Shapovalova, Founder, Pan Ukraine, Sumathi Ramanathan, Vice President, Market Strategy & Sales at Expo 2020 Dubai, Alma Au Yeung Corporate Director – Strategic Projects and Partnerships, Emaar and Mr Wang, Managing Director, High Way Travel & Tourism. – ( with inputs from ATM / Shamal Comm. release )
May 17 , 2021
File photo : ATM 2019 , Dubai
