In Lapland, the news that the Chinese authorities intend to allow tourism abroad again has been received with joy. However, a quick and spectacular return of Chinese tourists is not expected.
In Finland, travel from China is expected to increase after the country’s authorities announced that they will waive the corona restrictions.
For example, Finnair estimates that the demand for flights to China will start to recover at the turn of January-February for business travelers. According to Finnair, next summer will again be a turning point in Chinese leisure travel.
Finnair has already held negotiations to restore flights to China that were canceled due to the corona virus. More capacity will also come due to the removal of location restrictions.
– First of all, it will take time to increase the number of flights. Another thing is how many other customers the companies already have. Is there necessarily even room for large groups now?
Many countries are going to demand corona tests from the Chinese
Forsell thinks that the return of the Chinese will probably only materialize in a big way until next winter.
– It would be great if it went up already in the summer, but I believe that the larger volumes will come next winter.
China waives corona tests and quarantines for those arriving in the country on January 8, which will also make it easier for Chinese people to travel abroad.
The lifting of the restrictions takes place at the same time that Corona is spreading in the country at an unprecedented rate and hospitals are full of Corona patients. There are no reliable figures on corona deaths from China.
At least the United States, Italy, Japan and India plan to require Chinese tourists to undergo corona tests. In Finland, the Institute of Health and Welfare does not recommend restrictions, because it considers that they cannot prevent the spread of the virus.