Despite boom in Chinese travel demand, Asian airlines hold out on boosting flights

Many airlines are taking a wait-and-see approach before releasing more flights, since many are still ‘coming out of the Covid battlefield’, analysts say

This is despite a surge in travel demand by Chinese citizens after three years of being shut in, with especially high interest in Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand

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Travellers with their luggage at Beijing Capital International Airport. China has said it will ease tough border measures from January 8. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:00am, 31 Dec 2022Updated: 12:08pm, 31 Dec 2022

As countries across Asia brace themselves for the return of Chinese tourists, observers and industry insiders say travel from China is expected to pick up only gradually, with airlines and airports likely to adopt a “wait-and-see” approach.

The Chinese government on Monday said it would ease tough border measures from January 8, in an about-turn on its three-year zero-Covid strategy. It would, on the same day, also resume visa applications for business, study and family reunions, and remove limits on the number of international passenger flights.

The move comes as coronavirus cases have sharply risen, prompting several countries including South Korea, Japan, India and the United States to impose mandatory Covid-19 tests on visitors arriving from China.

A traveller walks near a banner for the coronavirus testing centre at Incheon International Airport on Friday. South Korea has imposed mandatory Covid-19 tests on visitors from China. Photo: Yonhap via AP

But while travel demand is high in China following three years of being shut in, according to aviation data provider Cirium, scheduled flights to China in the first three months of 2023 are up by less than 3 per cent this week compared to the previous week, which translates to fewer than 100 more flights each month.

This is in contrast to the swift response to China’s announcement, with many mainland residents rushing to book outbound flights, resulting in a 254 per cent surge on Tuesday morning compared to the day before, according to data from Trip.com.

Singapore ranked as the top destination, with flight bookings jumping 600 per cent while others such as South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand leapt around 400 per cent.

“Only if the Chinese start travelling again with a vengeance will there be a capacity shortage,” said Subhash Goyal, president of India’s Confederation of Tourism Professionals.