A Chinese tourist wearing traditional Thai costume poses for a photo at Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratawaramahawihan in Bangkok, Thailand on January 17, 2024. [Photo/VCG]
BEIJING – As the eight-day Spring Festival holiday approaches, tourist destinations around the world are banking on a tourism boom and are keen to attract Chinese holidaymakers.
Thai Prime Minister Sureta Thavisin warmly welcomed Chinese tourists in a video message last week, as they were the country's largest source of inbound tourists. The Prime Minister expressed his hope that Chinese tourists will have an enjoyable and safe experience in Thailand.
This comes after China and Thailand signed a mutual visa exemption agreement, which is scheduled to come into effect from March 1.
“As a Thai citizen, I am very excited about this news,” said Chanapan Kaewkrachaiyaut, vice president of the Thai Chinese Tourism Alliance, adding that this is the best mechanism to promote tourism and increase economic benefits. He added that it would be.
Mr Chanapan said the association expects between 200,000 and 250,000 Chinese tourists to enter Thailand during this year's Spring Festival holiday from February 10 to 17.
The Southeast Asian country aims to attract 8 million tourists from China in 2024, more than double the number in 2023 and the pre-pandemic peak recorded in 2019. It accounts for 75%.
Singapore also signed a visa-free agreement with China last month, but the tourism sector rebounded last year, with mainland China becoming the top tourist spender.
The city-state expects its tourism industry to further rebound this year due to improved global air connectivity and capacity, and the implementation of 30-day visa-free reciprocal travel with China.
Tourism bureaus across China are actively promoting local attractions and adopting innovative strategies to attract tourists. Featuring unique local traditions such as distinctive costumes, traditional dances and delicious food, these initiatives aim to attract tourists in the run-up to the Chinese New Year holiday.
“Ice City” Harbin, the capital of northeastern Heilongjiang Province, takes advantage of the winter landscape to promote ice and snow tourism, attracting more than 3 million tourists during the three-day New Year, and total tourism revenue of $591 reached. Both reached record highs of 1 billion yuan (approximately $831.6 million).
Tour guides on Alibaba's travel platform Fliggy are excited as bookings for domestic and international destinations surged during the Lunar New Year holiday, with bookings for overseas trips increasing more than 15 times compared to 2023.
Tan Mingyuan, tour guide at GZL International Travel Services, said: “Customers are increasingly interested in exploring overseas destinations, especially after countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore waived visa requirements for Chinese tourists. “There's a lot of enthusiasm. There's kind of a renaissance in both individual touring and group touring.”
“I have to work throughout my vacation,” said Tan, who just returned from the Philippines and is leaving for Vietnam with a tour group of 20 people.
Looking ahead, 2024 will be a key year for China's tourism industry, entering a “new cycle of prosperity,” according to the China Tourism Academy.
Domestic travel by Chinese tourists this year is expected to increase from nearly 4.9 billion in 2023 to more than 6 billion, and the number of overseas trips by Chinese tourists is expected to reach 130 million, compared to last year. This is a significant increase from over 87 million people. According to the Academy.
The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) said international tourism is on track to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2024 after a strong 2023.
The release of residual demand, increased air connectivity and a strong recovery in Asian markets and destinations are expected to underpin a full recovery by the end of 2024, according to this year's first UNWTO World Tourism Barometer.
