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BEIJING – Travelers from mainland China are homebound in Asia for the Lunar New Year, the first holiday since Beijing relaxed border controls linked to Covid-19.
Hong Kong and Macau were the most popular destinations, Trip.com said, citing flight bookings for the first four days of the Lunar New Year. The seven-day festival began on Saturday.
Here are the next three most popular overseas destinations according to Trip.com
3. Bangkok
4. Singapore
5. Phuket, Thailand
During the first four days of the holiday, flight bookings for travel from the mainland to overseas destinations quadrupled from a year earlier, according to Trip.com.
In late December, Beijing announced that starting January 8, travelers would no longer need to quarantine upon arrival on the mainland, and Chinese citizens could resume leisure trips abroad. The change ended nearly three years of border controls.
However, Japan and South Korea – both popular with Chinese tourists – subsequently imposed temporary restrictions on travelers from China, including visa restrictions and the exclusion of Covid-positive individuals.
Singapore has not announced any changes, while Thailand has scrapped plans to require international visitors to show proof of a Covid vaccination, just days after announcing it.
China has seen a wave of Covid infections since Beijing ended most domestic Covid controls in early December. A negative covid test is still required to travel to the mainland.
In the year Chinese outbound tourists spent $54.7 billion on shopping in 2019, according to Euromonitor International.
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