Chinese travelers tips

When it comes to learning about destinations and planning trips, Chinese travelers are increasingly using travel applications like CTrip and Qunar and social media sites like Xiaohongshu and Douyin, the Chinese counterpart to TikTok.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, February 7. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

China is addressing the bottlenecks that have restricted outbound travel from the country. But the enthusiasm among Chinese travelers to visit the U.S. is diminishing, according to the latest survey from China Trading Desk, a marketing technology company.

Asia-Pacific airlines face headwinds from rising fuel prices and high inflation, industry executives said on Friday, adding to a downbeat outlook for a segment where travel demand is struggling to recover fully to pre-pandemic levels.

The global travel industry is on an upswing, with all regions registering growth over the previous month, according to the Skift Travel Health Index: September 2023 Highlights. The Skift Travel Health Index stands at 106, three points higher than August 2023 – a new record high.

Authorities around the world are imposing or considering curbs on travellers from China as COVID-19 cases in the country surge following its relaxation of “zero-COVID” rules.

The recent relaxation of zero-Covid policies in China offered great hope to a corporate travel industry stymied by those rules and one waiting to bring China back into the fold to speed up its recovery. But the ensuing testing requirements being put in place now by countries will be a major setback and dent much-needed confidence, industry associations warn.

The United States will impose mandatory COVID-19 tests on travelers from China, U.S. health officials said on Wednesday, joining India, Italy, Japan and Taiwan in taking new measures after Beijing’s decision to lift stringent zero-COVID policies.

Here are some excerpts from Daily Lodging Report from the past week. If you’re not a subscriber, you should be. Get news on hotel deals, development, stocks, and career moves. Sign up here, now.

While Chinese travel demand accelerates to pre-pandemic levels, the global tourism industry is still not fully ready to service it, according to some panelists this week at an ITB Berlin session titled “Outlook of Chinese Tourism Market 2023.”