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China ends Covid-era bans on group travel to the US and Japan
- The countries are among 78 more destinations open to Chinese travellers with immediate effect
- Canada and Saudi Arabia are still out of bounds for tour groups
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Yuanyue Dangin Beijing
China has finally lifted its ban on group travel to the United States and Japan, three years after it was imposed to limit the spread of Covid.
The destinations are among 78 more countries open to Chinese travellers with immediate effect, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said on Thursday.
Other countries include South Korea, Britain, Germany and Australia.
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China imposed outbound and inbound travel restrictions in early 2020, when Beijing had initially contained the pandemic at home and sought to prevent cases coming into the country.
As part of those restrictions, the National Immigration Administration, which issues passports, said in November 2020 that it would “tighten the approval of entry and exit documents for Chinese citizens for non-essential reasons such as travel”.
02:35
Mainland China to open all borders with Hong Kong and Macau, travel tours to resume
Mainland China to open all borders with Hong Kong and Macau, travel tours to resume
Then in December last year, Beijing abandoned its zero-Covid policy, dropped quarantine for entry to China and resumed some passport services.
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