China on Thursday included Equatorial Guinea, Cape Verde, Mozambique and Sao Tome and Principe, Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP), in a third batch of destinations to which it will allow group tourism trips.
The decision, announced by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture of the Asian country, covers a total of 82 countries, in addition to the 40 included in the first two batches.
Popular destinations among international travelers, such as the United States or the United Kingdom, are thus once again available to Chinese tourists traveling in organized groups.
At the beginning of February, Beijing once again allowed group tourism to around twenty countries, including destinations such as Thailand or Indonesia.
Portugal was included in the second batch, approved the following month, as well as Brazil, France or Spain.
China, which was the world’s largest source of tourists until the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, kept its borders closed for almost three years, as part of the zero-case policy for the new coronavirus, which was dismantled last December. after the protests. in several cities of the country.
Under that policy, anyone arriving in the country was required to quarantine for up to three weeks at designated facilities. The number of international flights dropped by up to 2% compared to the pre-pandemic period.
Source: TSF
