Chinese people have rushed to book trips abroad after Beijing announced it would reopen its borders next month.
Passport applications for Chinese nationals wishing to travel internationally will resume on January 8, the immigration administration said.
It follows an announcement on Monday that ended nearly three years of strict quarantine rules for visitors.
Since then, travel sites have reported an increase in traffic.
But Chinese tourists will not have unfettered access to all countries.
Authorities in the U.S. are considering new restrictions on travelers from China due to the surge in cases and concerns about a lack of transparency from the Chinese government.
“There is growing concern in the international community about the ongoing outbreak of Covid-19 in China and the lack of transparent data, including viral genomic sequence data,” US officials said in a statement quoted by news agencies.
“Without this data, it is increasingly difficult for public health officials to ensure that they will be able to identify any potential new strains and take immediate steps to reduce the spread.”
Japan – one of the most popular destinations for Chinese travelers – has announced that all travelers from China must show a negative Covid test on arrival, or a seven-day quarantine due to a surge in cases there. So stay in quarantine.
India has also said that travelers from China (as well as some other countries) must show a Covid test when they arrive – although this was announced before restrictions were eased by Beijing.
The easing of travel rules in China – the final part of the country’s zero-covid policy – comes as the country battles a new wave of infections.
Resentment against the government’s policy – which sparked unprecedented public protests against President Xi Jinping in November – led to an easing of Covid restrictions across the country.
But then there was a surge in Covid cases, with reports of hospital overcrowding and drug shortages.
Tuesday’s announcement on outbound travel followed Monday’s news, which lifted quarantine rules for travelers arriving in China. It also removed a cap on the number of daily flights.
On the same day, the National Health Commission announced that on January 8, Covid would be officially downgraded to a Class B infectious disease.
Before the relaxation of travel rules, people were strongly discouraged from traveling abroad. Outbound group and package travel sales were banned, according to marketing solutions company Dragon Trail International.
Within half an hour of Monday’s notice that China’s borders would reopen, data from travel site Trip.com – cited in Chinese media – showed a tenfold year-on-year increase in searches for popular destinations. has happened
Macau, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and South Korea were the most popular destinations.
