文旅部：恢复出境团队旅游及相关业务

Overseas travel destination list expanded

8月10日，文旅部发布《关于恢复旅行社经营中国公民赴有关国家和地区(第三批)出境团队旅游业务的通知》，日韩英美及澳大利亚等78个国家位列其中，至此出境团队游恢复的国家和地区已增至138个。消息发布后，多平台表示出境旅游的搜索率及咨询率飙升，反映出消费者持续上升的出境旅游意愿。

China announced on Thursday the resumption of group tours to another 78 countries, including popular destinations such as Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia.

8月10日，中国宣布恢复包括以日本、英国、美国和澳大利亚等热门国家为目的地的78个国家的团队旅游。

The announcement led to a surge in inquiries made to travel agencies, which quickly added new travel options to these countries.

这一消息使旅行社的咨询量激增，并迅速为其增加新的出境游产品及选择。

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in a notice that starting on Thursday, travel agencies and online travel companies can resume group travel services to the 78 destinations.

文化和旅游部在一份通知中表示，自8月10日起，旅行社和线上旅游公司可恢复到78个目的地的团体旅游服务。

China had resumed outbound group tours to 60 countries in February and March.

在今年2月和3月，中国已恢复对60个国家的出境团队旅游业务。

Since the trial resumption of outbound group travel for Chinese citizens, the overall outbound tourism market has remained stable and well-organized, playing a positive role in tourism exchanges and cooperation, the notice said.

通知称，自试点恢复旅行社经营中国公民赴有关国家出境团队旅游业务以来，出境旅游市场整体运行平稳有序，对促进旅游交流合作发挥了积极作用。

In 2019, before the pandemic hit, China had the largest outbound tourism market in the world, with 169 million trips made that year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

据国家统计局数据显示，2019年新冠疫情前，中国是世界上最大的出境游市场，2019年出境人数达到1.69亿人次。

With international passenger flights continuing to resume and more Chinese people ready to travel overseas, China has decided to resume outbound group tours to more countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Thursday.

10日，外交部在一份声明中表示，随着国际客运航班持续恢复，中国民众出境旅游意愿上升，中国政府决定进一步扩大中国公民出境团队旅游国家和地区范围。

The statement advised outbound tourists to prepare well before their journey, and stay safe and healthy as they travel. Government departments concerned will provide businesses in the tourism sector with the necessary guidance, it added.

该声明建议出境游客做好行前准备，注意自身安全，增强安全文明健康出行意识。主管部门将指导旅游企业周密组织实施。

Online travel services provider Trip.com Group reported a more than twentyfold increase in outbound travel inquiries following the announcement, particularly for the weeklong National Day holiday in October.

携程数据显示，在消息发布后，出境游产品的咨询量增长了20多倍，尤其是在10月国庆黄金周假期期间。

The company, buoyed by the announcement, quickly introduced nearly 1,000 new travel products. As outbound group travel offers increase, the costs are expected to decrease, and prices are likely to become more affordable, it said.

携程平台受到这一消息的鼓舞，迅速推出了近1000种新的旅游产品。并声称，随着出境游项目的增加，成本有望下降，出境旅游价格可能会变得更实惠。

The number of outbound tourism bookings made by Trip.com users on the Chinese mainland surged by 44 percent between June and July. Popular destinations include Tokyo, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Macao.

6月至7月，携程用户在中国大陆的出境游预订量激增了44%。热门目的地包括东京、曼谷、香港和澳门。

Meanwhile, the number of weekly international flights so far this month has rebounded to more than 50 percent compared with the same period in 2019, and ticket prices have dropped by 80 percent compared with the same period last year, figures from Trip.com showed.

与此同时，携程网数据显示，本月截止到目前为止，每周的国际航班数量较2019年同期相比已反弹至50%以上，机票价格较去年同期相比下降了80%。

Data from on-demand service giant Meituan showed that the number of searches for hotel accommodations abroad increased sevenfold on average following the announcement. The number of searches on Meituan for hotels in South Korea soared fifteenfold and the same for Japan increased twelvefold.

美团数据显示，消息公布后，平台上境外酒店的搜索量平均增长了7倍。其中对日本和韩国酒店的搜索量分别飙升了12倍和15倍。

Lu Mengxi, head of Meituan cultural and tourism research institute, said that based on the popularity of outbound travel products on the platform, the interest and willingness for outbound travel among Chinese people are growing.

美团文旅研究院院长路梦西表示，综合美团平台上境外旅游产品的预订和浏览数据来看，消费者出境游意愿持续上升。

The new policy will further unleash the potential of tourism consumption and add new confidence to the global economic recovery, she said.

她表示，通知的发布，有利于进一步释放旅游消费潜力，并为全球经济复苏注入更多信心。

According to China Tourism Academy, travelers from the Chinese mainland have made 40.37 million outbound trips in the first half of this year, with 94 percent of them visiting Asian destinations such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.

据中国旅游研究院数据显示，今年上半年，中国内地（大陆）出境游客4037万人次，其中94%的游客前往泰国、新加坡、马来西亚和越南等亚洲目的地。

Hong Kong and Macao were the most popular overseas travel destinations during the period, according to the academy.

该研究院表示，香港和澳门是这段时间最受欢迎的旅游目的地。