China announces resumption of outbound tourism in an orderly manner; COVID-19 test for inbound travelers scrapped
Business News2022-12-27 HedonSmart
Chinese customs Photo: VCG
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) announced on Tuesday that starting from January 8, 2023, nucleic acid tests will no longer be carried out on people entering the country, and that those with normal health declarations without abnormal customs quarantine will no longer undergo any special process.According to the notice of interim measures for personnel exchanges between China and foreign countries issued by the MFA on Tuesday, persons with abnormal health declaration or fever and other symptoms shall be subject to antigen detection by Customs.
If the results are positive, asymptomatic infected persons without serious underlying diseases or mild cases can enter home quarantine or manage their own care. In other cases, individuals are recommended to report to a hospital for diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible. If the results are negative, the Customs shall conduct routine quarantine inspection in accordance with the related laws and regulations.
China will gradually resume the entry and exit of passengers and commercial transport at land ports based on comprehensive assessment, the notice said.
For international cruise ships, a pilot program will be carried out to offer more convenience for Chinese and foreign sailors to change shifts in China.
The ministry will further optimize arrangements for foreigners returning to China for work resumption, business, study, family visits and reunions, and provide visa facilities accordingly.
In light of the international epidemic situation and the service support capacity of all sectors, China will resume outbound tourism for Chinese citizens in an orderly manner in accordance with the principle of pilot programs, the notice said.
People coming to China should undergo a nucleic acid test 48 hours before their departure, it said. Those with negative test results will be granted entry into China. There is no need to apply for a health code from Chinese diplomatic and consular missions abroad. If positive, passengers should wait until they return a negative test before travelling to China.
On Monday, the National Health Commission issued a notice addressing the downgrading Class A management of COVID-19 to Class B from January 8, 2023, which proposed to optimize the management of personnel exchanges between China and foreign countries.
Data from travel agency Trip showed that within half an hour of the launch of the notice, the number of searches for popular overseas destinations on the platform surged tenfold, and searches for outbound air tickets and overseas hotels both hit three-year peaks.
In addition, data from Tongcheng Travel platform showed the instantaneous search volume of international air tickets across the platform increased by 850 percent after the news was released.
According to a poll conducted by Shell Finance on Weibo, China's Twitter-like social media platforms, 70,000 people had voted for their desired outbound destination as of press time, with the top three countries being Thailand, Japan and South Korea.
By Global Times
