DO YOU KNOW THAT ???
In the years before Covid, China was the world’s most important source of international travelers. Its 155 million tourists spent more than a quarter of a trillion dollars beyond its borders in 2019.
China averaged about 12 million outbound air passengers per month in 2019 and Malaysia only received 3.1 Chinese tourist per year in 2019 where else Thailand received 11 millions Chinese tourists in 2019 .
That largesse fell precipitously over the past three years as the country essentially closed its borders. But, as China opens on 8th January , millions of tourists are poised to return to the world stage, raising hopes of a rebound for the global hospitality industry.
I think although international travel may not return immediately to pre-pandemic levels, companies, industries and countries that rely on Chinese tourists will get a boost in 2023
I was told by our counterpart in China that searches for international flights and accommodations immediately hit a three-year high on trip.com platform .
Bookings for overseas travel during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, which falls between January 21 and January 27 this year, have soared by 540% from a year ago, according to data from the Chinese travel site and average spending per booking jumped 32%.
I think that this trend of REVENGE TOURISM will be a huge opportunities for tourism players . But unfortunately , Malaysia is not one of the top search for Chinese tourist.
The top destinations for Chinese tourist are in the Asia Pacific region, including Australia, Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong. The United States and the United Kingdom also ranked among the top 10
Southeast Asian countries like Thailand , Indonesia , Singapore and Philippines have kept entry rules relatively relaxed for Chinese tourists, despite the record Covid-19 outbreak that has swept through China in recent weeks. They will surely benefit from this boom
When I arrived in Los Angeles International Airport recently , I found that there were at least 4 flights from China arrived at the same time and I didn’t see any new SOP or restriction on Chinese tourist . So I assume US also welcome them by not making any testing requirement.
New Zealand has also waived testing requirements for Chinese visitors, who were the second largest source of tourist revenue for the country before the pandemic.
I strongly believe that Chinese tourist are the great opportunities for Malaysia as we can accelerate our country’s economic recovery. I believe that tourism industry can strengthen our economy in 2023 .
Chinese travellers have money and will to spend . If any country not easily accessible , they will spend somewhere else .
So it’s up to us to welcome Chinese tourist and make it easier for them to spend money in Malaysia.
Now back to the question – Should we welcome Chinese tourist to Malaysia ?? What say you ?