SINGAPORE, 15 August 2023: Qantas welcomes China’s latest move to lift restrictions on outbound group tours by extending the list of countries to include Australia, Japan, South Korea, India and the US.
Commenting on the news that China has lifted restrictions on group tours to Australia, Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace said: “The easing of travel restrictions for Chinese group tours visiting Australia is great news for Australian tourism, and we welcome the announcement as we gear up to recommence Qantas flights between Shanghai and Sydney in October.
“Pre-COVID, Australia was a top destination for Chinese visitors, and we look forward to helping bring more travellers from China to Australia on our flights again soon.”
QF relaunches Shanghai flights
On 29 October 2023, Qantas will relaunch flights between Shanghai and Sydney for the first time in over three and a half years. Flights will operate daily with Qantas’ Airbus A330 aircraft, offering more than 4,000 weekly seats on the route.
First reported by Reuters on 10 August, China confirmed it lifted pandemic-era restrictions on group tours for more countries, including key markets such as the US, Japan, South Korea and Australia. The decision was announced by China’s Culture and Tourism Ministry last Thursday with immediate effect.
Before the pandemic, mainland Chinese tourists spent more than any other country’s tourists abroad, clocking up a combined USD255 billion in 2019, with group tours estimated to account for roughly 60% of that, according to the Reuters report.
China’s latest update adds most of the EU, including Germany, Spain, Italy, and the UK. India is also on the latest list of additions. Reuters said it was “China’s third list of countries to receive approvals. The first batch approved in January included 20 countries such as Thailand, Russia, Cuba and Argentina. The second batch in March included 40 countries, including Nepal, France, Portugal and Brazil.”
International flights in and out of China have recovered to only 53% of 2019 levels as of July.
“That is largely due to staffing issues for many global airlines that have limited the flying of more routes, slow visa issuance for Chinese travellers amid backlogs in many Western countries, and a sputtering domestic economy that is discouraging many holidaying Chinese from spending big,” Reuters reported.
Trip.com, China’s largest travel agency, noted that the news had led to a spike in searches for destinations including Australia and Japan. Those countries, along with several other Asian nations and the US, are among the most visited by Chinese travellers.
(Source: Reuters and Qantas)
