Improving virus policy to reap tourists

Domestic travel bookings for the five-day holiday that starts on April 29 this year have seen a surge of over 700 percent from the same holiday last year, the latest data from online travel agency Trip.com Group showed. [Photo/Xinhua]

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning has announced that starting April 29 all passengers bound for China need to undergo just a rapid antigen test instead of a nucleic acid test for the novel coronavirus 48 hours before boarding a flight, and the airlines will no longer check the pre-boarding test certificate. World Health Organization officials had said the virus, which causes respiratory diseases will not transition from the pandemic phase to endemic phase but to a low-activity level.

Since the implementation of Class B management for inbound epidemic prevention and control measures at the end of 2022, enthusiasm for cross-border exchanges among people has reached an unprecedented high. According to the National Immigration Administration, immigration agencies nationwide counted 65.07 million inbound and outbound personnel in the first quarter, up 116.2 percent year-on-year.

The requirements for travelers from different countries or regions have been constantly updated, and the "uncertainty" of nucleic acid testing has also been a concern for many people. Therefore, further adjustments and optimization of epidemic prevention and control policies are necessary, both for Chinese people coming home from abroad and foreigners visiting China.

It is reported that the requirements for providing nucleic acid test reports for travel from China to countries such as the United States and Japan have also been gradually lifted. This is a good trend.

With the implementation of this new policy, tourism is expected to flourish during the May Day holiday.