Outbound group tours from Jiangsu Province are expected to rise in mid to late March after China resumed group tours to 20 countries and normal travel with the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions starting February 6.
Huang Xinfeng, an officer of Nanjing General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection, said Nanjing operates about 34 and 28 flights to Hong Kong and Macao per week respectively. The number of passengers passing through the border control at Nanjing Lukou International Airport increased eight times compared to the same period last year.
The flights from Nantong Xingdong International Airport to Macao, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and Sundays, has seen an average occupancy rate of more than 70% recently.
With the new policy, online tourism service providers have introduced more travelling options. TravelGo's first overseas group tour left Shanghai on February 6 to Thailand, heading to destinations including Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket.
"The last time I went abroad was in 2019, for the New Year celebration in the UK with my friends, and then I never travelled abroad till now. With changes of the policy, I immediately signed up for the group tour," said Ms. Zhang from Nantong City, Jiangsu Province.
Most of tourists in the group are from Jiangsu, according to the online travel platform. Data also showed that number of travel and visa enquiries from January 20 to February rose 358% and 172% respectively compared with the period a month ago.
Jiang Wen, CEO of Ctrip group tour division, said the booking for outbound tour package that includes airfares and accommodation in the first week after the Spring Festival holiday tripled than a month ago.
The Xiaohang Road outlet of China International Travel Services' Jiangsu Branch was also busy answering enquiries with new posters displayed inside.
Feng Zan, deputy head of the travel agency branch in the Nantong Tourism Association, said China's outbound group travel market was halted for three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and some travel agencies either went out of business or cut jobs. He said it still needs time to resume the overseas travel market, which is expected to rise significantly in mid to late March.
