According to data, Chinese visa applications are still far below pre-pandemic levels despite the lifting of travel restrictions in January, the data from a specialized visa firm showed. This is because there are still few international flights available.
Visa application volumes from China reached 35% of pre-COVID levels by May, according to a statement from VFS Global, a corporation that provides outsourcing and technology services for the visa application process. This compares to the same period in 2019 (January to May 20).
The United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, and Britain were among the top travel locations identified.
In January, the Chinese government resumed issuing passports and travel visas to its citizens, clearing the way for overseas travel. However, analysts had predicted that, for a variety of reasons, including the low volume of flights into and out of the nation, traffic would not rapidly recover.
Despite a spike in domestic travel demand during the Lunar New Year and Labour Day vacations, Nomura analysts noted in a report that the rebound in international travel has continued to be sluggish.
New breakouts are still a possibility, which would discourage travel.
When the country first opened its borders, a number of nations forbade the entry of Chinese nationals out of concern that they may transmit COVID and its suspected new versions during a rise in the nation, which the authorities later declared to have been defeated.
According to experts at Citi, “the new wave could raise the infection rate to its highest level since China’s official reopening this January.”
The Dragon Boat Festival (June 22–24) and the start of the summer tourism season also fit nicely with the peak of the simulated virus. In this regard, the travel data for the approaching holidays will be crucial to monitor, according to experts at Citi.
Many national health specialists have downplayed any new significant resurgence despite cases rising in areas like Beijing, where the city’s municipal health commission recently reported four consecutive weeks of escalating infections.
Source: theprint