A tourist holds a sign that reads "Thailand loves Shanghai people" at a Shanghai airport on February 6, 2023. A tour group departed from the airport and flew to Thailand's Phuket, one of the first Chinese tour groups to head abroad following China's resumption of outbound group tours. Photo: Chen Xia/GT

Southeast Asian countries like Thailand and Laos were the first destinations for many Chinese tourists as China officially started a pilot program of outbound group tours to 20 countries, mostly Southeast Asian nations, on Monday. 

For Chinese travelers, the resumption offers a chance to travel the world again, while for regional countries, it's the start of a rebound of their tourism industries, which were severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday morning, Chinese-language banners that read "Thailand always welcomes Chinese friends" were put up at the Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok to welcome the first tour group from China in three years, according to a statement from Shanghai Spring Tour and media reports.

The group of nearly 40 tourists departed from South China's Guangzhou, taking Spring Airlines' flight 9C7419 to enjoy a six-day trip to Pattaya and Bangkok. 

Yuthasak Supasorn, head of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, greeted Chinese tourists at the airport and gave them gifts. Officials from the Chinese Embassy in Thailand also attended the welcome ceremony, Shanghai Spring Tour said in a statement sent to the Global Times.

On the same day, a 24-person group tour departed from the Shanghai Pudong International Airport at around 10:40 am and arrived at Thailand's Phuket Island in the afternoon. Many tourists told the Global Times how excited they were for the trip, with some saying they couldn't fall asleep the night before. 

"I'm so excited that we are finally able to travel abroad again. With the plane leaving for a foreign country, it is a landmark shift," a tourist surnamed Zhu told the Global Times ahead of departure.

She filled her luggage with three gauze scarves, and around a dozen garments to pose for pictures in Thailand. "I want to eat seafood, experience the blue sky, white clouds, beaches and exotic scenery in Thailand," she said.

Nonglux Yooyendee, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Shanghai Office, came to the airport to see the tourists off, repeatedly telling reporters how happy she was about China's resumption of outbound group travel.

She said that travel restrictions in the past three years dealt a heavy blow to Thailand's tourism sector. More than 100 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand in 2019, accounting for about one-fourth of Thailand's total tourists.

"The China market is very important for Thailand's tourism industry. So we are very happy about Chinese tourists' return," she told the Global Times, adding that about 90,000 Chinese tourists visited Thailand in January, and more will come with the resumption of group tours.

In 2023, Thailand aims to increase tourism-related revenue to 80 percent of the level in 2019, and receive 25 million tourist arrivals, according to a report by the People's Daily. Nearly 2 million foreign tourists visited Thailand in January, with the number from China surging three times.

Another group tour organized by Shanghai Spring Tour departed from Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan Province on Monday morning by train for Laos' capital Vientiane, as direct flights have not resumed so far, the company told the Global Times. 

Outbound tourism to Southeast Asia heated up almost immediately after China optimized COVID-19 management measures at the end of last year. 

A Chinese tour group departs from Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan Province on February 6, 2023 by train for Laos' capital Vientiane. Photo: Courtesy of Shanghai Spring Tour

The number of inbound and outbound flight bookings on January 8 rose 628 percent year-on-year, the most since March 2020, the China News Agency reported, citing platform data. Almost half of all outbound Chinese tourists chose Thailand as their first overseas trip after reopening.

Xu Xiaolei, marketing manager at China's CYTS Tours, told the Global Times that the Southeast Asian travel market has been the first to rebound after China reopened its borders. Customers are familiar with the area, and those countries have a friendly attitude toward Chinese tourists. CYTS Tours is expected to dispatch a group to Phuket Island on Tuesday.

But there are challenges. According to Xu, the absence of Chinese tourists meant difficulties for Thailand tourism companies in recent years, including fewer employees. 

"Some of them still have concerns about hiring more staff, and we will assure them that Chinese tourists are coming and encourage our partners in Thailand to prepare for rising business," he said.

Shi Wen, a guide for the 24-person tour group from Shanghai, told the Global Times that some restaurants and shopping malls in Thailand that relied on Chinese tourists closed during the past three years, and now they are opening again gradually. "They need some time to adapt to the changes," he said.

Yooyendee nevertheless said that Thailand is a country with rich tourism experience, and the country's tourism resources like hotels and tour buses have recovered very well.  

According to a report from Fitch Ratings, China's reopening is expected to lift the tourism economy across the Asia-Pacific region.

"We expect a revival of Chinese outbound tourism to boost growth prospects in economies with substantial tourism sectors. Further upsides to government credit profiles could stem from its positive effect on domestic employment markets and the external services trade balance," the report said.