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Coronavirus China
BusinessChina Business

Online searches for flights to China soar after Beijing slashes Covid-19 testing, quarantine requirements, Trip.com says

  • Searches for flights to China from the US soared 136 per cent over the weekend between November 11 and 13
  • The latest policy announcements suggest that Beijing is paving the way for a gradual reopening, HSBC economist says

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The Beijing Daxing International Airport. The overall number of flights to China booked on Trip.com rose 27 per cent from last Friday to Sunday. Photo: Reuters
Pearl Liu
Interest in travel to China has nearly doubled led by surging demand in the United States, after Beijing slashed its quarantine requirements for international arrivals, according to online travel giant Trip.com Group.
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Searches for flights to China from the US soared 136 per cent over the weekend between November 11 and 13 compared to the same period the week before, leading to increases seen elsewhere, according to data released on Monday by the company formerly known as Ctrip.

Searches for flights from Australia also rose by 116 per cent over this period, Trip.com said, followed by a 102 per cent increase in inquiries in Japan.

“The latest policy announcements suggest that the central government is paving the way for a gradual reopening,” said Liu Jing, Greater China economist at HSBC. “The relaxation of Covid-19 measures, together with a further step-up in macro policy support, may help with domestic demand recovery.”

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China relaxes Covid measures, cuts quarantine on arrival to 5 days

China relaxes Covid measures, cuts quarantine on arrival to 5 days

China announced major changes to its strict Covid-19 measures for inbound travellers on Friday. It reduced quarantine on arrival from seven days to five and ended the practice of cancelling international flights if too many passengers from previous flights tested positive on arrival, a major barrier to visiting the country.

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Travellers will now be allowed to enter the country after showing just one negative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test within 48 hours of boarding. The cycle threshold for a negative PCR test will also be dropped from 40 to 35.

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