Visa applications surge as international borders reopen
Chinese travellers are taking advantage of the reopening of international borders.
Visa application volumes from China had already reached 35 percent of pre-pandemic levels by May this year, driven by travel demand after the reopening of international borders, a report revealed on Tuesday.
Major destinations for visa applications for Chinese travelers include Canada, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States, according to VFS Global, the world's largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions.
Among countries closer to China, Japan, South Korea and Thailand are some of the popular destinations.
The company suggested applicants make plans and preparations in advance as visa processing can take longer than anticipated during peak season, with higher demand and limited appointment slots available.
Most countries accept visa applications up to 90 days in advance with Schengen accepting documents up to six months prior to the date of travel, according to VFS Global.
In China, VFS Global has over 400 visa application centers across 16 cities, facilitating visa applications for 35 governments.
Travel demand is quickly rebounding.
"By the end of May, we restarted 80 percent of visa application centers in China, one of our biggest and most important source markets, in response to the demand for visa applications by Chinese travelers," said Kishen Singh, chief operating officer of mainland China for VFS Global.
"The outlook for 2023 looks extremely positive. Visa appointment bookings surged since March. Given the strong demand trend, we urge all applicants to apply for their visas well in advance," Singh said.
He said it is predicted that visa application volumes from China would reach between 40 and 45 percent by the end of this year compared to 2019, and rise to 70 and 75 percent next year.
A strong revival of the tourism industry has been witnessed.
Shanghai-based online travel operator Trip.com said bookings of its group tours have surged over 1,000 percent since March from the same period last year.
The figure is even more robust for the upcoming summer vacation with orders soaring over 2,000 percent year on year even one month prior to the traditional summer travel peak.
Summer break is generally the busiest travel season in China.
There is a growing trend of young generation travelers as nearly 35 percent of tourists applying for group tours are aged between 18 and 30 years old, according to Trip.com.
The orders from young travelers aged between 18 and 30 grew 813 percent from the same period last year, and was up 71 percent from the pre-pandemic period, it said.
On the first day of Fliggy's annual 618 promotion campaign, the sales volume of hotel products jumped by more than 98 percent from the same period last year.
