The tourism sector in the Netherlands does not expect a massive return of Chinese tourists in the short term now that the authorities in China are going to scrap the restrictive measures for traveling abroad.
For 2023, the Netherlands Bureau for Tourism and Congresses (NBTC) expects 190,000 visitors from China to stay in the Netherlands for at least one night. That is considerably more visitors than in 2021 (80,000) but much less than before the pandemic. In 2019, 369,000 Chinese tourists came to the Netherlands.
It will also take a while before the first tourists from China will visit the Amsterdam canals, Keukenhof or Giethoorn, says a spokesperson for the NBTC. “They must first apply for a passport and a visa for the Schengen area.” Moreover, Chinese tourists now prefer holidays closer to home, to Japan, South Korea and Thailand. “Just like we went on holiday more in neighboring countries in recent years.”
A number of countries in Asia have announced entry restrictions for Chinese tourists. The US would also consider it. In Europe, with the exception of mandatory testing in Italy, this is not the case, says a spokesperson for the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). RIVM and the Ministry of Health generally follow the advice of ECDC. Incidentally, the RIVM stated earlier this year that entry restrictions are of little use in containing the spread of Covid-19 variants.
Largest source of income
The 369,000 Chinese travelers were certainly not the largest group of tourists in the Netherlands in 2019. In that year, almost 6.2 million Germans and 2.5 million Belgians visited the Netherlands. And in contrast to the number of Chinese tourists, the German and Belgian figures in 2022 were almost at pre-pandemic levels.
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Before the pandemic, tourists from China were the largest source of income for global tourism. According to the UN World Tourism Organization, Chinese tourists spent nearly 240 billion euros internationally in 2019, one fifth of global tourism spending.
Chinese tourists also spent considerably more per person in the Netherlands than other holidaymakers, an average of 1,257 euros per stay. Germans spent 443 euros, Belgians 320 euros per person per stay (the figures are from 2014).
KLM airline says in response to the removal of the Chinese restrictions that it is happy “for our passengers that the quarantine obligation has been lifted in China”. As of January 30, KLM will increase the number of flights to China. To Shanghai, the number goes from one to three a week; KLM will soon fly to Hangzhou three times a week. Because of the flight restrictions over Russia, KLM has to fly around Siberia.
Other airlines are more cautious. United Airlines said it would evaluate ticket demand and market conditions before scheduling more flights to China. The German companies Lufthansa and TUI have also not yet made a decision.
A version of this article also appeared in the December 29, 2022 newspaper