- Title: Visa exemptions, open border, lure China's Lunar New Year travellers abroad
- Date: 9th February 2024
- Summary: SHANGHAI, CHINA (FEBRUARY 9, 2024) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF TRAVELLERS IN SHANGHAI PUDONG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT VARIOUS OF ELECTRONIC BOARD SHOWING FLIGHT INFORMATION FOR INTERNATIONAL DEPARTURES (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 36-YEAR-OLD TRAVELLER TO SINGAPORE, CHEN SUZHEN, SAYING: “This time I'm going to Singapore, and one of the major reasons is that it’s visa free, which has saved me a lot of trouble. It’s more convenient, I can just take my passport and go there.” TRAVELLERS IN SHANGHAI PUDONG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT DRAGON DECORATION IN AIRPORT (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 36-YEAR-OLD TRAVELLER TO JAPAN SURNAMED SHI, SAYING: “These two, three years, because of the pandemic situation, I haven’t travelled abroad. So now that the pandemic (policy) has opened up, and during the Spring Festival I have several days off, so I’m going to travel (abroad)." LONG QUEUE OF INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLERS WAITING TO CHECK-IN TO FLIGHT, TRAVELLERS WALKING BY (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 36-YEAR-OLD TRAVELLER TO JAPAN SURNAMED SHI, SAYING: “Because Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, these countries are already visa-free, next time I might go there to check it out.” (MUTE) VARIOUS ACCELERATED FOOTAGE OF TRAVELLERS IN AIRPORT SINGAPORE (FEBRUARY 9, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) TOURISM STUDIES PROFESSOR AT SINGAPORE UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, SIN HARNG LUH, SAYING: “The visa waiver and exemptions were announced just very recently and very close to the date of the Chinese New Year. And so most Chinese nationals would have made Chinese New Year plans already, because it is their sort-of one holiday, I mean, or rather two holidays as the golden week as well, in a year. And you know, there's also familial sort of responsibilities, right, of going home in Chinese New Year.” SHANGHAI, CHINA (FEBRUARY 9, 2024) (REUTERS) TRAVELLERS ENTERING INTERNATIONAL TERMINAL SIGN READING (English and Chinese): "INTERNATIONAL, HONG KONG, MACAU, TAIWAN DEPARTURES" TRAVELLERS ENTERING INTERNATIONAL TERMINAL SINGAPORE (FEBRUARY 9, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) TOURISM STUDIES PROFESSOR AT SINGAPORE UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, SIN HARNG LUH, SAYING: “I think for this round, it (the amount of travellers) may not be so, say, the biggest wave. But this will certainly grow over time, because for Chinese nationals, actually, a visa waiver, is quite a big deal because they don't have so many visa exemptions on the Chinese passport. So it becomes one of, it sort of shoots up as one of the top choices once you have a visa waiver, because of the lack of sort of administrative hurdles.” SHANGHAI, CHINA (FEBRUARY 9, 2024) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF TRAVELLERS IN QUEUE VARIOUS OF PASSENGERS ENTERING AIRPORT
- Embargoed: 23rd February 2024 07:58
- Keywords: abroad china cny holiday international lunar new year malaysia sea singapore south east asia thailand travel vacation
- Location: SHANGHAI, CHINA / SINGAPORE
- City: SHANGHAI, CHINA / SINGAPORE
- Country: China
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001917409022024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Rather than spending the usual Lunar New Year’s holiday in her city of Hangzhou, this year 36-year-old Chen Suzhen decided to pack up and fly to Singapore for a week.
Chen said that it was mainly the dropping of visa requirements for Chinese nationals that influenced her decision to travel abroad this year.
“It’s visa-free, which has saved me a lot of trouble. It’s more convenient, I can just take my passport and go there,” Chen told Reuters on Friday (February 9) as she prepared for her flight at Shanghai’s Pudong Airport.
For other travelers like 36-year-old Mr. Shi, it’s the opening of China’s post-pandemic borders that was a major draw. This time he’ll be travelling to Japan, which still requires visas for Chinese nationals, but hopes to soon visit countries in Southeast Asia where Chinese nationals are now visa exempt.
As thousands of Chinese prepare to go abroad during the Spring Festival holiday since Beijing lifted pandemic travel restrictions last year, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand are hoping their unprecedented visa waivers will lure a large proportion of these visitors - and their much-needed spending.
Sin Harng Luh, a critical tourism studies professor at Singapore University of Social Sciences, does not expect a huge increase in tourists traveling to Southeast Asia this holiday period because of the timing of the waiver announcement but anticipates the region will become “a top choice” due to the lack of administrative hurdles.
Chinese travellers often complain about the length of time and the hassle it takes for them to obtain travel visas, and their passport is 62nd on the Henley Passport Index, which ranks the passports of 199 countries according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.
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