China Travel News You Might Have Missed

China Eastern to Increase International, Regional Flights: China Eastern Airlines has announced it plans to open new international routes and resume flights on previous routes for the 2023-2024 flight season, with international and regional flights expected to reach 1,084 per week, according to Travel News.

The airline plans to launch routes connecting Shanghai and Cairo, Shanghai and Vientiane, Hangzhou and Auckland, Hangzhou and Sydney, as well as Beijing Daxing and Haneda Airport in Japan, to name a few. China Eastern has also resumed flights on routes between Shanghai and San Francisco, Shanghai and Brisbane, and Shanghai and Nagasaki as of Oct 29. Flights will also resume between Shenzhen and Bangkok and Lanzhou and Bangkok in late November.

China and Australia Agree to New Multi-Entry Visa: Following meetings in Beijing between Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Chinese counterpart, the two countries announced plans for a multi-entry visa, according to The Guardian. The visa, which will be made available for visitors and business people, is meant to encourage more people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

Middle Eastern Countries Seek to Enhance Tourism Ties With China: Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia and Qatar are looking to strengthen their partnerships with China in the tourism sector in the coming years, reports Travel and Tour World. Saudi Arabia sees inbound tourism from China as critical to achieving its 2030 Vision, with a target to attract 150 million visitors – 3 million of these from China – by 2030.

Qatar, on the other hand, hoping to take advantage of the tourism boom brought by its hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, seeks to increase Chinese tourists’ awareness of the country. 40,000 Chinese tourists traveled to Qatar in the first eight months of 2023. China also expanded its list of outbound destinations for tour groups in August, covering 78 destinations including Qatar, which has laid the groundwork for more tourists from the Asian nation to visit.

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