A plane carrying a Chinese tour group took off on Monday from Nanning Airport in south China's Guangxi, heading for Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.

It's the first outbound tour group from Guangxi to Thailand in three years.

Starting Monday, China resumed outbound group travel to 20 countries, including Thailand, the Maldives, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, and New Zealand.

It had been three years since the country suspended outbound group tours -- the major form of travel for outbound tourists.

The rebooting of the services is expected to boost the global tourism industry.