Chinese travel agencies to resume group tours to 20 countries on Feb 6

Chinese travel agencies will resume group tours to 20 countries, including Russia, starting February 6, the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism said on Friday.

"From February 6, 2023, travel agencies and online travel companies across the country will resume pilot outbound group tours and the provision of 'airline tickets + hotel' services for Chinese citizens to eligible countries," the statement said, reported Sputnik.

Group tours will be organised to Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Russia, Switzerland, Hungary, New Zealand, Fiji, Cuba and Argentina.

In December, China's government started to gradually ease its "zero tolerance" policy toward the pandemic, which had been the strictest in the world for almost three years. On January 8, obligatory PCR testing and centralised isolation for people arriving in China were canceled.

The country's authorities also said that they intended to resume the provision of services for the issuance of ordinary visas, temporary residence permits and residence permits for foreign citizens, including the implementation of visa-free transit measures within 24, 72 and 144 hours, and the issuance of temporary entry permits.

-- BERNAMA