According to the New York Times, no country has played a more important role in global tourism over the past decade than China.
A tourist prays as Thai dancers perform at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok.
One of the tourism markets most dependent on Chinese tourists is Thailand.
For places serving Chinese tourists on package tours, the damage was especially severe.
Hong Sukkyoun, spokesman for the Jeju Tourism Association, said more than 50% of duty-free shops serving Chinese customers in Jeju have closed.
In Australia, Chinese tourists are considered the `pillar` of the tourism market.
`It’s good to know that Australia has opened up. But that means nothing if China remains closed to international travel,` said Feng Hong, a Chinese businessman.
Europe, where Chinese visitors are less common than in Asia-Pacific, has emerged in recent years as an increasingly important market.
`We clearly see their absence,` Alfonsina Russo, director of the Colosseum in Rome, said of Chinese tourists.
In Paris, France, long lines of Chinese tourists walking around the shops on Champs-Élysées were once a common sight.
Efforts to welcome guests
Although Chinese tourists do not come to Thailand for Tet, locals still hang red lanterns on beaches and Chinatowns from Bangkok to Phuket.
The government is planning to establish bilateral agreements on tourism with China.
During Lunar New Year, people still hang Chinese lanterns on Pattaya beach.
The Australian government said it does not want to give up this large market, continuing to promote tourism to Chinese tourists throughout the pandemic.
Catherine Oden, an employee of Atout France, an agency specializing in promoting French tourism, said she had to get familiar with social networking platforms such as Weibo and Douyin.
The Beijing-based China Tourism Academy said the number of foreign trips made by people in 2020 decreased by 86.9% compared to 2019. More than 80% of Chinese respondents said they currently only want to travel domestically.
