“As part of its effort to maintain a zero-Covid approach, China has announced that international flights would be kept at 2.2 percent of pre-Covid levels during the winter. Since August, it has almost entirely stopped issuing new passports, and it has imposed a 14-day quarantine for all arrivals. Returning to China also requires mountains of paperwork and multiple Covid-19 tests. Many people there have decided to just stay put.” — The New York Times
Even before Omicron’s arrival, China was discouraging its citizens from traveling abroad. That has had a huge impact on global tourism.”
Years of growth made the USA the most popular long-haul choice among Chinese travelers. By 2016, China had been projected to be the United States’ second-largest overseas inbound market, behind only the U.K., according to U.S. Travel Association. However, the numbers began declining in 2018.
- Nevertheless, the average Chinese visitor to the U.S. spent about $6,500 in 2018, among the highest of all international visitors.
- Before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, around 2.83 million arrivals were recorded for the year 2019, according to Statista.
- By 2020, approximately 378,000 visitors from China arrived in the United States, representing a significant decrease from the previous year.
- It’s not just the U.S., either. This New York Times article published on December 5, 2021 points out the noticeable lack of Chinese visitors in Paris, London, Rome, as well as Vietnam, South Korea, Bali and beyond.
