China sees cross-border travel return to pre-Covid numbers over New Year holiday

Name: Southeast Asian aviation industry is booming amid return of tourism
Uploaded: 2024-01-02T08:41:02.000Z
Duration: 3 min 6 s
Description: Southeast Asian aviation industry is booming amid return of tourism

There were more than 5 million border crossings between December 30 and January 1, nearly a fivefold rise from a year ago

It comes as Beijing is trying to boost the sluggish economy, including with measures aimed at luring more visitors from overseas

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Arrivals and departures from mainland China beat expectations over the holiday period. Photo: AFP

Sylvia Ma

Published: 4:41pm, 2 Jan 2024

Arrivals and departures from mainland China were back to pre-Covid levels over the New Year holiday period, beating expectations, immigration authorities said.

There were some 5.18 million border crossings across mainland China between December 30 and January 1 – nearly a fivefold increase from a year ago, the National Immigration Administration said in a statement on Tuesday.

That breaks down to a daily average of 1.73 million border entries and exits, more than the administration’s projection of 1.56 million.

It took the arrivals and departures to the same level recorded in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic swept across China.

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Southeast Asian aviation industry is booming amid return of tourism

Domestic travel also bounced back over the New Year holiday, with 135 million trips taken nationwide, according to tourism ministry data.

That was a jump of 155.3 per cent from the same time last year and a rise of nearly 10 per cent from the pre-Covid level in 2019. Tourism revenue tripled from the same time in 2022 and was up 5.6 per cent from the New Year holiday in 2019.