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CHIANG MAI, Jan. 25 (AP) Just a handful of Chinese tourists posed for photos and basked in the sun this week at markets and squares near Chiang Mai’s ancient Tha Pae Gate, one of many tourist hotspots still waiting Millions of Chinese tourists come back.
The beaches and temples in destinations like Bali and Chiang Mai are the busiest since the pandemic began three years ago, but they have remained relatively quiet.
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Still, Chanatip Pansomboon, a soft drink seller in the Chinatown district of Chiang Mai, a scenic riverside city in northern Thailand, remains optimistic. He believes it is only a matter of time as the number of flights from China steadily increases.
“It would be good if a lot of them could come back because they have purchasing power,” Chanatip said.
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The expected resumption of group tourism from China could bring in more tourists. Right now, only individual travelers can afford to venture abroad as flights cost more than three times their usual cost.
This includes people like Chen Jiaojiao, a doctor who poses for photos with her children in front of the red brick wall of Tha Pae Gate, escaping the damp cold of Shanghai to enjoy the warm sunshine and cool breeze of Chiang Mai, which is her First overseas holiday since 2016. The virus emerged in China in early 2020.
“After three years of a pandemic and a harsh winter, now it’s opening,” Chen said. “For us Chinese, the first choice is to travel to Chiang Mai, because the weather is warm and the people here are very hospitable.”
In 2019, 1.2 million Chinese tourists visited Chiang Mai, generating 15 billion baht ($450 million) in tourism-related revenue, a severe drain on the region as countries closed their borders to most tourism.
Suladda Sarutilawan, director of the Chiang Mai office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said group tours will resume on Feb. 6, but the number of tourists will depend on the number of flights operated. She said she hopes to have about 500,000-600,000 Chinese tourists this year.
Li Wei, a businessman from Shanghai, took his family of seven to visit the ancient city wall and said that of course more Chinese are willing to visit.
“Since visas and flights have not returned to normal, maybe tourists will come in the next three months,” Li said.
Farther south, in the tropical Indonesian resort of Bali, shops and restaurants — some adorned with festive red lanterns and red and gold envelopes for Lunar New Year cash gifts — remained relatively empty.
Bali’s first post-pandemic direct flight from China arrived on Sunday, bringing 210 tourists from the southern city of Shenzhen, who were greeted with marigold garlands and dance performances.
“Before COVID, we worked with travel agencies that catered to Chinese tourists who brought people from China every day, but since they closed, there have been a lot fewer customers,” said Made Sutarma, owner of a seafood restaurant in Bali’s Jimbaran area. .
After three years with almost no customers, Nyoman Wisana, the general manager of a Chinese restaurant, said he was “very happy” to see Chinese tourists returning.
Fewer than 23,000 Chinese tourists visited Bali from January to November last year, and only a quarter of the island’s 80 travel agencies that mainly cater to Chinese clients are operating, said Putu Winastra, president of the Indonesian Association of Tour and Travel Agents in Bali. .
“Actually, we’re very concerned about that,” he said.
Indonesia is working on plans to attract more Chinese tourists, including exploring direct flights from major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, he said.
Those who did visit this week seemed elated after months of strict pandemic controls that kept international travel out of reach for nearly all Chinese.
“I haven’t been abroad for the past three years, and I haven’t been to Southeast Asia for vacation. It feels great,” said Li Zhaolong, a tourist who enjoyed a day at the beach. “Bali is a very beautiful place, so I’m very happy to be here.”
Closer to home, casinos in Macau’s gambling district and popular tourist spots in Hong Kong, the former British colony, drew larger-than-usual crowds but remained empty compared to pre-COVID-19 days.
Normally, places like Hong Kong’s scenic Ocean Park and the Wong Tai Sin Temple, with its Nine Dragon Wall, are packed with tourists from mainland China.
Leo Guo, who works in the tourism industry, took his wife, daughter, sister and parents for a week that included visits to Hong Kong Disneyland, Victoria Peak and the skyline-dominated harbour, and of course shopping.
“For mainland Chinese, Hong Kong is a special city that is different from other cities in China,” Li said. “It is our preferred destination.”
Further afield in Australia, Sydney-based travel agency Eric Wang said high travel costs still appeared to be keeping Chinese off the charts despite increased flights by Chinese airlines.
Before the pandemic, Chinese accounted for nearly a third of all tourism spending in Australia, with more than 1.4 million visits in 2019. Australia joins Japan, the US and some other countries in requiring tourists from China to take a COVID-19 test before leaving. But Wang, who works for CBT Holidays, a company that specializes in travel to and from China, said he didn’t see it as a serious hurdle.
“It’s more about the airlines, because the flights haven’t returned to normal frequency, so the tickets are five times more expensive,” he said. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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