It was the last country in Asia closed to tourists.
Locked down for nearly three years, China is reopening its borders to travellers.
From January 8, 2023, the Middle Kingdom will abolish mandatory quarantines upon arrival.
A negative Covid test of less than 48 hours will still be required from visitors.
The resumption of flows to China completes the gradual reopening of Asia to tourists, a process that will have taken two to three years depending on the country.
Last March, Cambodia, Mongolia, Vietnam or Singapore opened the ball, followed by Malaysia in April and Laos in May.
In October, India, Japan and Thailand in turn opened their arms wide to foreign travellers.
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Asia, a preferred destination for French tourists
Wulingyuan Regional Park, located in Hunan, China.
Adobe Stock
Good news for the French, fond of Asian destinations.
"
We feel a strong renewed interest from French tourists, especially for Japan, Thailand, Vietnam and, for some time,
Indonesia
", supports Guillaume Linton, CEO of the specialized agency Asia Voyages.
The unlocking of the Middle Empire is already having an impact on air transport, which has so far been quite disorganized in Asia, despite the regional recovery in tourism.
“
Companies will set up more flights to China.
The prices of plane tickets for the whole of Asia will therefore drop
”, translates Guillaume Linton.
Enough to bring back more French tourists.
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Two years for China to become attractive again
The Great Wall of China and its 21,196 km are classified as World Heritage by UNESCO.
AdobeStock
Arriving behind Japan, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, China is not the most popular Asian destination for the French.
And "
we do not expect a craze effect
" with its reopening, confides Guillaume Linton.
The image of the Middle Kingdom was particularly damaged during the three years of the pandemic.
Cradle of the virus, its very harsh zero Covid policy and, more generally, the opacity of its extremely repressive system have been “
extremely dissuasive
”.
Especially since in view of the epidemic outbreak which is hitting the country today, French tourists can “
legitimately fear
” finding themselves stuck on the spot in the event of Covid.
In addition, ticket prices are still skyrocketing.
“
For now, the number of planes making the round trip between France and China remains the same, i.e. three weekly flights
” and on average, a round trip sometimes greatly exceeds €1,500 – compared to €1,100 before the pandemic.
Guillaume Linton is however confident even if it will take “
at least two years before the country becomes attractive again in the eyes of the traveller
”.
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