Chinese travelers will be ready, but will you? So concludes the report from digital marketing agency Mailman X as it anticipates the world’s largest travel group returning in 2021/22.
Such closing optimism jars with several of the report’s findings, including the extent to which global anti-Chinese sentiment will deter tourists from traveling abroad and a general unwillingness to spend big during a period of economic hardship. Throw in the secondary coronavirus waves recently experienced in Beijing and the northern city of Jilin and describing the ‘post-COVID-19’ Chinese traveler begins to seem more difficult.
Nonetheless, the report illustrates valuable lessons from China’s passage through coronavirus and how its travel market has responded.
Start by guaranteeing hygiene. As institutions and attractions welcome visitors back into public spaces, safety and cleanliness will be the top priority. Hand-sanitizers at the door and carefully controlling visitation are good starting points , but long-term success requires training and collaborating with all stakeholders involved.
What’s the cost of opening at reduced capacity? During the Labor Day weekend, Chinese visitors recorded 115 million trips domestically, compared to 195 million in 2019. The fall in traffic raises a pivotal question; what does limited visitation mean for attractions reliant on large crowds? Shanghai Disneyland has offered some answers, reducing capacity to 30 percent, requiring visitors prebook tickets, and mandating face masks. Still, its profitability remains unknown.
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