As a result of Beijing’s announcement that the country’s borders will reopen next month, the Chinese population has raced to plan trips abroad. Chinese passport applications for overseas travel will begin on January 8, according to the immigration agency. It follows a Monday declaration that eased nearly three years of rigorous quarantine regulations for arrivals.
Since then, travel websites have noticed an increase in traffic. However, Chinese travellers will not enjoy unrestricted access to all nations.
Concerned about an increase in cases and a lack of transparency from the Chinese government, U.S. officials are considering imposing new restrictions on travellers from China.
“The international community is becoming concerned about the continued Covid-19 outbreak in China and the lack of transparent data, particularly viral genetic sequence data,” US officials said in a statement cited by news organisations.
“Without these data, it becomes increasingly impossible for public health professionals to guarantee that they would be able to identify any potential novel variations and take quick action to prevent their spread.”
Japan, one of the most popular vacation destinations for Chinese tourists, has announced that all Chinese visitors must present a negative Covid test upon arrival or face a seven-day quarantine.
India similarly requires travellers from China and a few other countries to present a negative Covid test upon arrival, albeit this requirement was announced prior to Beijing’s relaxing of restrictions.
The loosening of China’s travel restrictions, the final component of the country’s zero-Covid policy, comes as China fights a new wave of infections.
Resentment towards the government’s stance, which prompted rare public protests against President Xi Jinping in November, resulted in a nationwide easing of Covid restrictions.
However, a surge in Covid cases followed, along with concerns of overcrowded hospitals and medicine shortages.
Tuesday’s statement regarding outbound travel followed Monday’s news regarding the elimination of quarantine regulations for travellers entering China. It also eliminated a limit on the number of flights each day.
The National Health Commission declared on the same day that Covid would be downgraded to a Class B infectious disease on January 8.
Before the loosening of travel restrictions, international travel was strictly discouraged. Dragon Trail International, a provider of marketing solutions, reports that the sale of the outbound group and package trips was prohibited.
Within half an hour of Monday’s announcement that China’s borders will reopen, Chinese media reported that searches for popular destinations on the travel website Trip.com had jumped tenfold year-over-year. The most popular destinations were Macau, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, and South Korea.