China expands its tourism horizons: resumption of group tours to lusophone Africa

China has announced that it will resume group tourism to Equatorial Guinea, Cape Verde, Mozambique, and São Tomé and Príncipe, which are Portuguese-speaking African countries.

This move was shared by China’s Ministry of Tourism and Culture and is part of a broader initiative that includes an additional 82 countries beyond the previously announced 40.

Well-frequented destinations by global travelers, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, are once again available for organized group travel from China.

Earlier in February, Beijing had already reopened group tourism to around 20 countries, with destinations including Thailand and Indonesia.

Portugal and other countries like Brazil, France, and Spain were added to the list in the subsequent release.

Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, China was the world’s largest source of international tourists.

However, in response to the pandemic and in an attempt to achieve ‘zero cases’ of the virus, China had sealed its borders for almost three years.

This strict policy, which was relaxed in the previous December following various local protests, required arrivals to undergo up to three weeks of quarantine in specified facilities.

Consequently, international flight activity had decreased to a mere 2% of the pre-pandemic levels.

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