APAC REPORT
CHINA IS OPEN but travel normalcy won ’ t happen overnight
Contributed by TAREQ BAGAEEN , HOTSTATS
When the effects of COVID-19 ravaged the world ’ s travel industry starting at the beginning of 2020 , none of us thought it would last so long . However , only recently did the World Health Organization announce its official end as a pandemic ; it ’ s time we all moved on .
China had been both a puzzle and a rollercoaster for the hotel industry , domestically and globally due to its massive impact as an outbound market . For example , prior to COVID , travelers from China accounted for almost a third of all international visitors to places such as Japan and Thailand , two of the most visited destinations on the planet .
The infamous zero-COVID policy plagued the entire world with supply-chain issues , completely closed off borders for entry into mainland China and continued to hurt the nations trying to recover without the millions of Chinese guests .
When Chinese officials suddenly announced an end to the policy in January 2023 , it was met with joy : the hotel industry has been one of the last major sectors to return to normality .
Hotels manned up and got ready at a moment ’ s notice to welcome the influx of guests that was surely to follow , especially for the Chinese New Year holidays toward the end January . The mood was exuberant .
Three weeks later , it dawned on everyone that all that excitement was misguided , as outbound travel faltered due to a variety of reasons . Chinese travelers were vaccinated by the Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines , which are largely unrecognized internationally .
68 hotelsmag . com June 2023