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In this edition of the Global Impact newsletter, we look at the joy, fear and optimism across Asia as Chinese tourists returned after China dropped its inbound quarantine restrictions on January 8. Photo: Xinhua

Economy Global Economy

Global Impact: China’s reopening met with mixed feelings across Asia as Chinese tourists return

Global Impact is a weekly curated newsletter featuring a news topic originating in China with a significant macro impact for our newsreaders around the world
In this edition, we look at the joy, fear and optimism across Asia as Chinese tourists returned after China dropped its inbound quarantine restrictions on January 8

China's border reopening

Bhavan Jaipragas

Published: 2:00pm, 30 Jan, 2023

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Across Asia, China’s reopening of its borders that had been all but shut since the start of the coronavirus pandemic has been met with mixed feelings.

The prospect of tourism businesses being stress-tested rather than operating at a fraction of their capacity was highly anticipated, based on multiple stories from Thailand, Malaysia and other Asian countries about China’s reopening.

When China said it would drop inbound quarantine on January 8, it sparked a scramble for flights to top destinations, including Japan and South Korea.

Southeast Asian countries, too, were on the receiving end of a surge in bookings. Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, with direct flights and few health controls, offer Chinese travellers a quick and easy escape – in contrast with Japan and South Korea, which were limiting flights and continue to test arrivals from China for the virus.

02:50

‘A little scary’: Japanese hopeful yet wary about return of Chinese travellers

Suen Tat Yam, founder of Monster Day Tours in Singapore, said his immediate challenge was to hire and train enough Mandarin-speaking tour guides before the masses arrived.

“Everyone in the tourist sector has been anticipating this move, and all of them will be aggressively hiring, not just us,” he said.

Glee and excitement of the economic boom to come have, however, been tempered by fears over a rebound of virus cases, pressure on health services, and the potential for new variants to emerge from a population that has yet to achieve herd immunity.

In early January, for example, Malaysian social media had been bristling at the looming return of Chinese tourists.

03:01

South Korean street vendors eagerly await Chinese tourists amid tit-for-tat Covid travel measures

Tour operator Justin Lee questioned the rush to allow Chinese tourists back in just as the Malaysian economy was stabilising after a grim few years of scarring lockdowns and movement restrictions.

“We have enough to eat now, and there is no need to rush to take risks,” he wrote on Facebook. “If [Chinese tourists’ return] causes us to return to lockdown, who will be responsible?”

All eyes will now turn to the February 6 reopening of outbound travel between China and an initial list of 20 countries, which includes Singapore, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, New Zealand and Switzerland.

In Hong Kong, the reopening of the border is a cause for optimism among the city’s retail sector. Industry observers have cautioned against over-exuberance, however, saying that the retail market is likely to be slow and uncertain, as surging Covid-19 infections on the mainland and a huge supply glut limit any boost from reopening the border.

Still, it’s better to see the glass as half full when it comes to China’s reopening. As Nicolas Aguzin, CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, said at a panel during the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, China’s reopening is “the most positive catalyst for global markets there is in 2023”.

60 second catch-up

Chinese border crossings hit half a million per day since reopening, lifting of restrictions

Top Chinese diplomats urge EU, Asian nations to drop travel restrictions

01:27

China immigration official says 1.35 million applied for passports, visas since Jan 8

Malaysian doctor ‘turns accident victim away’ as choked hospitals take toll on health workers, patients

‘No need to take risks’: Malaysians fear Covid-19 resurgence ahead of China tourists’ return

02:18

Manila welcomes first batch of Chinese travellers in nearly 3 years

China visa bans over Covid rules spark concern from top European business chambers

South Korean and Japanese coronavirus travel restrictions ‘excessive’, China’s foreign minister says

Opinion: Row over Covid curbs on Chinese travellers could be a chance to find common ground

Deep Dives

China’s emigration ‘run philosophy’ results in surge for Hong Kong visas amid city’s top talent hunt

Hong Kong launched its Top Talent Pass Scheme at the end of last year to attract experienced high-fliers and graduates from the world’s top universities

There has also been a ‘surge’ in inquiries from citizens in mainland China for the city’s Quality Migrant Admission Scheme

On the second day of the new year, Ray Shi received a letter from Hong Kong immigration officials telling him his application for a top talent pass had been approved – just two days after he had uploaded all the materials to the department’s website.

Around the same time, Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu started to be flooded with posts showing screenshots of similar letters from applicants to Hong Kong’s Top Talent Pass Scheme.

Hong Kong’s retail market faces ‘slow recovery’ as surging Covid-19 cases rain on the parade of city’s open border

A recent uptick in enquiries from potential shop tenants betting on a flood of mainland visitors returning will be short-lived, says secretary general of commerce group

Retail landlords also face a surge in supply as an estimated 3.9 million square feet of shopping mall space is set to open this year, according to Colliers

The recovery of Hong Kong’s retail market is likely to be slow and uncertain, as surging Covid-19 infections in mainland China and a huge supply glut limit any boost from the reopening of the border, according to industry leaders.

A recent uptick in the number of enquiries from potential shop tenants betting on a flood of mainland visitors returning will be short-lived, said John Lee Koon-lam, secretary general of the Hong Kong Industry and Commerce Elite Association, which has close to 200 businessmen and politicians as members.

Hong Kong’s wait for tourists from mainland China not over yet: industry leaders

City can expect uptick in visitors after Lunar New Year as many mainlanders prefer to see family first, lawmaker says

Some travellers hope to come to Hong Kong to shop for medicine, take Covid-19 vaccine and watch films not slated to be shown on mainland

Mainland Chinese tourists will not return to Hong Kong for at least another month even though Beijing began issuing individual visas on Sunday, industry leaders have predicted.

The deputy director of the Guangdong Tourism Association, Zou Feng, on Wednesday said the central government had yet to internally notify travel agencies about resuming tours or offering hotel and flight packages to the city.

China-Japan relations: ‘political’ travel curbs on Chinese ‘harm business ties’, diplomat warns

Foreign ministry’s top Asia official says supply chains should not be influenced by ideology

Liu Jinsong delivers the message in talks with the chief of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China

Japan’s restrictions on Chinese travellers are political and harmful to business exchanges between the two Asian economies, a senior Chinese diplomat has warned.

Liu Jinsong, who is in charge of Asia affairs at the Chinese foreign ministry, also warned that Japanese businesses should be cautious about any attempts to “ideologise” supply chain cooperation.

As Singapore, Malaysia cheer return of China tourists, Japan and India recoil

India, Japan reintroducing negative Covid-19 tests for Chinese travellers as mandatory conditions of entry, while Philippines could follow suit

Businesses, property market eye economic boom, but excitement tempered by potential rebound of virus cases, pressure on healthcare services

In Singapore the rush is on to hire tour guides, Thai property agents are prepping for a bonanza and Malaysian traders are swiftly swapping Christmas decorations for red lanterns – Asia is bracing for the return of Chinese tourists to the region after three years sequestered at home by the pandemic.

The travel plans of the world’s largest population are poised to stress-test the capacity of tourism in countries which are only just rebounding from the evisceration of the pandemic years, yet businesses are relishing the economic shot in the arm that is likely to be delivered over the coming days and weeks.

Chinese tourists and South Korea want to reunite but pandemic fears and rules stand in the way

Ctrip reports searches for flights to South Korea soared 158 per cent when China announced it would drop quarantine restrictions

Airlines and tour companies are not rushing to welcome visitors from mainland China while Covid-19 case numbers rise

Chinese tourists eager to visit the popular holiday destination of South Korea jammed travel websites as Beijing announced the imminent lifting of inbound quarantine rules.

Bookings soared last month as people welcomed the major easing of a zero-Covid policy that had lasted nearly three years. However, the South Korean government’s decision to limit additional flights and test Chinese arrivals for the coronavirus has dampened the mood among Korean tourism businesses, which want to wait and see if pre-pandemic numbers from China return.

Global Impact is a fortnightly curated newsletter featuring a news topic originating in China with a significant macro impact for our newsreaders around the world.