Tourists in Beijing Daxing International Airport in Beijing, China, December 27, 2023. /CFP
An average of 1.56 million trips will be made in and out of the Chinese mainland per day over the 2024 New Year holiday, five times more than in 2023, China's National Immigration Administration estimated on Thursday.
The expected increase in travel during the upcoming holiday season approaches 90 percent of the levels recorded in the same period of 2019 before the pandemic. The busiest travel days are projected to be December 29 and 30, 2023, and January 1 and 2, 2024, according to the administration.
Major Chinese airports are preparing for an increase in the average daily number of passengers clearing customs. The average daily number of people passing through customs at Beijing Capital International Airport, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Chengdu Tianfu International Airport is expected to reach 33,000, 68,000, 34,000 and 13,000 respectively.
Additionally, land ports near the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, such as Gongbei Port in Zhuhai and Luohu Port in Shenzhen, are projected to see continued growth in passenger traffic.
As international and regional flights steadily resume, countrieslike Thailand and Malaysia have introduced visa-free entry policies for Chinese citizens. Meanwhile, China has implemented a unilateral visa-free policy for ordinary passport holders from six countries, including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia on a trial basis. This move has boosted the interest of foreign tourists in traveling to China. Concurrently, there has been a notable uptick in the number of tourists arriving from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.
