CBN Friday Special丨China’s summer holiday tourism rebounds o

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S: Hi everyone. Welcome to CBN Friday Special. I’m Stephanie LI. 

T: Hi, I’m Themis.

S: Hey Themis. The summer vacation is coming. Do you have any travel plans?

T: Sure. I have been longing to head for the picturesque city of Dali of Yunnan Province in southwestern China but failed to book a hotel room for this weekend because reservations were nearly full. 

S: Yeah, it seems that China's tourism is on track to a recovery this summer from the previous coronavirus disruptions, especially after the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology last Wednesday removed the asterisk mark on people's travel record that shows whether a person has recently visited cities with high risk of COVID-19 exposure. 

China's online travel agency Qunar.com recorded the searches for flight tickets surged 60 percent within a half hour after the announcement of dropping the asterisk mark, while the figure for hotels doubled and the number for train tickets soared up to 150 percent. On Trip.com, another major online travel agency, the searches for popular domestic travel destinations were up by more than 300%.

T: Without the asterisk mark on digital travel pass, the cross-provincial trips are gaining attention again, as the summer vacation lasting more than one month is approaching. Citing data from China’s travel service and social networking platform Mafengwo, searches for Mogao Caves in Dunhuang skyrocketed more than 7 folds on the news and the data for a self-driving tour in Xinjiang and a trip without a travel agent in Guizhou increased by about 5.5 times and 2.1 times respectively.

At the same time, the major attractions have reopened to embrace the tourists back already. At the end of June, the Universal Studios in Beijing and Disneyland in Shanghai resumed operation and shares warm welcomes. As one of the largest waterfalls in China, Huangguoshu Waterfall in Guizhou Province even announced on June 26 that tickets on that day have been sold out after reaching the maximum capability of 10,000 tourists.

S: The recovering tourism sector also gives a push to the A-share market. Shanghai Composite Index rallied to a three-month high of 3,400 points last Tuesday, mainly benefiting from the rise of the hotel and travel-related stocks, after the government announced to reduce quarantine time for overseas arrivals to seven days at an appointed quarantine facility and the following 3 days in home isolation, halving from the previous requirement of 14 days in quarantine and 7 days for self-isolation. 

Moreover, global investors reacted positively to the policy changes, as shares in China's tourism and travel businesses soared in the U.S. early trading on the same day. Trip.com's Nasdaq-traded shares once rushed by more than 13 percent while China's major hotel chain Huazhu jumped by over 10 percent. The Hong Kong-listed stocks of major Chinese carriers kept up. China Eastern Airlines, based in Shanghai, rose by 6 percent on the same day, while China Southern Airlines, headquartered in Guangzhou, climbed 4.8 percent daily.

T: The market is notably expecting the tourism industry to boom this summer. But will the sector recover to the pre-pandemic levels in the coming two months? I have heard that some cities are imposing stricter restrictions than the national standard.

S: Good question! Hurdle-free travel is not yet available everywhere in the country. Take Changsha as an example, this popular destination known for its spicy food requires visitors to offer information such as train tickets on a system designed by the local government two days earlier before their arrival. Moreover, the city asks people from some areas with existing infection cases like the Chaoyang district in Beijing to have a quarantine in appointed facilities. But these extra rules can only be learnt after consulting the local community as they are beyond the published requirements.

T: The sudden outbreak is another hindrance. Last October, thousands of tourists were not allowed to leave Inner Mongolia with the control measures tightened due to the new infections. Tourist attractions are at risk of unanticipated closures. As a city known for relics and sites, Xi'an decided to shut down its public places including museums for a week starting on Wednesday, after reporting new cases of the highly transmissible new Omicron variant BA.5. 

S: Excitement about cross-provincial travel cools further down amid surging global gas prices. The fuel surcharge in China has risen 5 times in a row this year and reached a record of 200 yuan in July for each flight from over 800 kilometres. With fuel costs added, the total expense for a flight ticket could double.

Visitors tend to spend less during the trip, dragging down revenue of the tourism sector. One resort in Jiangsu Province recorded more than 16000 visits for two nights in June but on-site spending dropped 8 percent monthly. On the other hand, more and more travellers bring their own snacks and meals and thus avoid higher consumption inside the tourist attractions.

T: Yes, limits remain, but things are not that bad. In fact, the tourism industry stays overall positive about the future recovery, as the recent changes in travel-related policies could support bigger growth.

In terms of air travel, the carriers in China announced gradually resuming flights involving the outbreak struck cities like Beijing and Shanghai in early June. For other popular destinations for the summer vacation, China Southern plans to increase more than 1000 flights to cities in Xinjiang, while Hainan Airlines has launched nearly 15 new routes, mainly connecting Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia. The international trips might be available again, as China's three flagship carriers will be able to operate routes covering more than 50 countries and regions this July, including Canada, the Netherlands and France. Moreover, the three major carriers announced the purchase of a total of 292 aeroplanes from American aircraft manufacturer Airbus with 249.5 billion yuan to expand the flight capability.

S: Some tourist sites are taking measures to boost visits. More than 200 resorts in Chongqing Municipality and Sichuan Province started giving out 1 million free tickets for entry from July to December. In Huangshan city, the state-owned A-class tourist attractions are offering 50-percent off in tickets until the end of August. Free tickets aside, Huangshan City will also issue 30,000 consumption vouchers to further attract tourists in mid-July, while Shaanxi Province will provide 30-million-yuan worth of vouchers for trips to cultural sites and food consumption.

T: So far, loads of positive changes have happened to China’s tourism. But it would be a challenge for China’s tourism sector to recover to the pre-pandemic levels in July and August, as local communities might need time to digest the new national standards to combat the virus. However, the eased travel restrictions brighten the future. Therefore, some professionals in the tourism industry put more expectations on the 7-day National Day holiday in October. 

S: Indeed. And it’s good news that tourists are trickling back. Despite possible hurdles, I can’t help awarding myself with a trip to enjoy this vibrant summer already! So that’s all for today, and see you next week.

行程卡摘星了，你计划好暑假去哪里旅游了吗？

6月29日下午，工信部宣布取消行程卡“星号”标记，出行障碍又减少了一道。随着暑期来临，多地恢复跨省游，沉寂多时的旅游业，有了复苏的希望。

全国摘星的消息发布后，携程平台上多个热门旅游目的地的搜索量增长超300%；去哪儿平台上，仅半小时内机票搜索量上升60%，酒店搜索量翻倍，火车票搜索量上涨最多达到1.5倍；飞猪平台上，1小时左右机票搜索量增长超5成。

此外，暑期已至，长途远线游也重回人们的视野。马蜂窝平台上，消息发布后，“敦煌莫高窟”相关搜索热度上涨733%，“新疆自驾”相关搜索热度上涨550%，“贵州自由行”相关搜索热度上涨210%。

人们出行的意愿强烈，各大景区也期待游客们的回归。6月底，北京环球影城和上海迪士尼相继宣布恢复运营。而国内一些头部景区也久违地“拥挤”。6月26日，贵州黄果树景区发布公告，景区游客人数达到当日最大，即可停止售票；同日，黄山单日接待游客突破10000人，创下自3月上旬以来接待量新高。

资本市场也看好回暖的国内旅游业。6月28日下午，国务院发布第九版新冠肺炎防控方案，将密切接触者和入境者的隔离时间从原本的“14天集中隔离+7天居家健康监测”调整为“7天集中隔离医学观察+3天居家健康监测”。消息一出，上证指数时隔三月再度站上3400点关口，酒店、旅游等消费复苏方向大涨，华天酒店等多股涨停，酒店旅游板块涨幅居前。

不管是游客还是旅游业，都对这个暑期寄予厚望。但是国内旅游业是否真的能够在七月和八月完全恢复？

实际上，尽管全国摘星、统一中高风险区的标准，各地“加码”情况依然存在，出游的障碍仍未完全清除，想要一场“说走就走的旅游”没那么容易。以近年来的热门旅游城市长沙为例，外地访客需要提前2天在“我的长沙”APP或者小程序上进行“来长登记”。需详细填写行程，甚至具体到高铁要填写车次车厢和座位号。

而即便是非高风险区，也会有到了当地被要求集中隔离的可能。在咨询过具体的在长沙的街道之后，有的则答复是如果是北京低风险地区，48小时核酸即可，但朝阳、大兴、西城、昌平、亦庄经开区等地的来人，需要集中隔离。但这些规定并没有被公开，因此，具体是否需要隔离，旅客只能先电话咨询。

此外，就算顺利到达了目的地，游客还需要担心当地疫情反复，或者要回去的地方防疫政策升级。因此，不少人还是选择“按兵不动”，观望一段时间。

如果突发疫情，涉及的景点也需要马上关门。在通报了中国内地首例奥密克戎BA.5变异株之后，西安宣布自7月6日0时起，全市实行7天临时性管控措施，公众娱乐休闲场所暂停营业，包括室内景点、文化馆和博物馆等。

而近期高企的燃油附加费也广受关注。自7月5日起，国内航线燃油费迎来今年的第五涨，收费标准全面突破2008年7月创下的历史最高纪录。根据同程旅行上的信息，800公里以上的航段，每位旅客收取人民币200元，已经与一些航线的机票价格本身相当，一定程度上冷却了人们坐飞机出游的情绪。

与此同时，人们的旅游消费习惯也在悄然发生变化。一个位于江苏的景区6月经营状况还不错，由于当月举办大型活动，期间两个晚上客流量就超过16000，但当月景区二次消费收入下降8%。另一个农林类景区也发现，最近一段时间，自带零食和小吃的游客比例大幅提升。这些都说明游客对二次消费愈发谨慎，旅游消费力下降，旅游业复苏难度加大。

国际方面，尽管放宽入境隔离期限，但是航班熔断机制仍在，因此国际访客保留观望态度。7月6日，民航局发出多份熔断指令，32个入境航班在7月或8月禁飞，涉及德国、澳大利亚、印尼等多个国家。

不过，近期防疫政策的更新给了行业复苏的信心，并加快对未来的布局。

各航司加大了国内航线的运力。7月2日，国航宣布将逐步恢复北京往返上海航线。此前东航也发布消息称，上海往返北京航线将陆续新增多个航班。除了京沪航线，新疆作为热门旅游目的地，南航计划增班1000余班次，主要包括加密深圳至乌鲁木齐等航线。海航也新开近15条航线，主要集中在广深、新疆、内蒙古等地。