The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has given the thumbs up to China’s optimised COVID-19 response measures, saying China’s reopening and the restart of China’s aviation and tourism industry will boost the aviation industry’s global recovery.
The statement was made after China modified its COVID response to reflect the evolving circumstances. Since January 8, 2023, China has removed the anti-COVID limits on international passenger flights and optimised its regulations for travel between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao. Further new measures include the country’s lifting of anti-COVID restrictions on domestic passenger flights.
“China’s reopening and the restart of China’s aviation and tourism industry will boost the aviation industry’s recovery,” Xie Xingquan, Regional Vice President of North Asia from the International Air Transport Association told the Global Times
Tourism is expected to recover as tourist arrivals rise thanks to China having some highly-chosen attractions such as the famous Great Wall, Terracotta Army, the Forbidden City and more. The Great Wall was voted as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World in 2007, not only because of its long history, but also considering its massive construction size, and its unique architectural style.
China announced on January 29 that it planned to resume issuing visas to Japanese that same day, after the Japanese Embassy in China resumed visa applications for Chinese nationals. This announcement was widely regarded as a positive sign for travel and communications between Chinese and Japanese citizens.
According to Xie, recent initiatives by China and Japan to lift some of the temporary travel restrictions are encouraging.