World tourism lacks “something vital” to recover: and this is not at all the return of tourists from Russia. We are talking about millions of tourists from China. Such a conclusion was presented by high-ranking speakers at the World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit, held recently in Riyadh.
“The recovery of tourism will not begin without the presence of 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 slow down the recovery of tourism – almost all over the globe.
“The problem for us is that the Chinese traveler expanded his universe around the world. They influenced shopping in Europe, they were travelers who traveled at a different time than all other tourists. The return of the Chinese would be a plus for us all,” said Greg O'Hara, founder and senior managing director of tourism investor Certares.
Nearby neighbors like Indonesia and Thailand are vocal about trying to replace the Chinese — for example, by betting on India, as in Thailand, or on local tourism, as Sandiaga Uno, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia, assured. But it doesn't seem to work very well.
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