World tourism recovery lacks “something vital”: and it is not at all the return of tourists from Russia. We are talking about millions of tourists from China. This conclusion was presented by high-ranking officials at the Global Summit of the World Travel and Tourism Council, which took place the other day in Riyadh.
“The restoration of tourism will not begin without the presence of the citizens of the world’s second largest economy,” is the general thesis. In particular, Anthony Capuano, CEO of Marriott International, said that China’s “zero covid policy” continues to hamper the recovery of tourism almost all over the globe.
“The problem for us is that the Chinese traveler has expanded his universe around the world. They influenced shopping in Europe, they were those travelers who traveled at a different time than the rest of the tourists. The return of the Chinese would be a plus for all of us,” said Greg O’Hara, founder and senior managing director of tourism investor Certares.
And close neighbors – such as Indonesia and Thailand – are voicing how they are trying to replace the Chinese – for example, betting on India, as in Thailand, or on local tourism, as Sandiaga Uno, Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, assured. But it seems that it is not very successful.