China recently announced the easing of restrictions on group tours and would-be travelers immediately started searching for trips. Online travel platform Ctrip reported a 20-fold increase in searches for outbound travel options.
Specifically, there was high interest in trips for the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, an eight-day break in late September and early October. There was a significant rise in queries for group travel packages to countries like Japan and Australia, reported Beijing Youth Daily.
Travel demand should also get a boost from an increase in flights between the U.S. and China – the countries have approved doubling the number of passenger flights.
Still, numerous challenges and bottlenecks remain. International flights from China remain at around 50% of pre-pandemic levels. The visa application process is still tangled up. And prices are elevated for many popular tourist destinations after strong demand this summer.
Adding to the challenges is the potential impact of youth unemployment. This week, China ceased the publication of unemployment statistics, which had previously highlighted a surge in the number of unemployed young individuals within the country.
In June, the unemployment rate among urban workers aged 16 to 24 reached a record high of 21.3%.
Michael Jones, co-founder of China Create Consulting, argues that youth unemployment will weigh on the burgeoning Chinese Gen-Z outbound tourism market. Jones suggests that the implications extend beyond young travelers themselves.
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