Just now! The EU has reached a consensus and agreed to gradually lift epidemic restrictions on travelers from China! ! These other countries have also taken action.
According to Reuters news on the 16th,The European Union reached a consensus at a meeting on Thursday (16th) local time and agreed to gradually cancel the new coronavirus testing measures for travelers from China. .
According to reports, the news was announced by Sweden, which holds the rotating EU presidency. Health experts from all 27 EU member states who participated in the above-mentioned meeting that day agreed to cancel the requirement for pre-departure nucleic acid tests for travelers from China by the end of February. The requirement for a negative test certificate and the sampling nucleic acid screening measures for travelers from China will be lifted by mid-March.
EU flag data map
According to reports, this decision was also endorsed by the non-EU members of the Schengen area, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
Recently, many countries have relaxed entry restrictions previously imposed on travelers from China. On January 31, local time, the Italian Ministry of Health decided to relax entry restrictions for travelers from China. From February 1, mandatory nucleic acid testing for travelers from China will no longer be implemented, but will be replaced by “random testing.” On February 16, the Swedish government announced that it would lift temporary restrictions on arrivals from China starting from February 18. On the same day, France decided to lift entry restrictions on tourists from China.
Removal of epidemic restrictions, mutual visa exemption… Many countries have relaxed the “threshold” for Chinese tourists
Recently, many countries such as France, Sweden, and Italy have relaxed entry restrictions previously imposed on tourists from China, and countries such as the Maldives and Iran have also opened visa exemptions to Chinese tourists.
Remove entry restrictions on Chinese tourists
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Italy
On January 31, local time, the Italian Ministry of Health decided to relax entry restrictions for travelers from China. From February 1, mandatory nucleic acid testing for travelers from China will no longer be implemented, but will be replaced by “random testing.”
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France
On February 16, Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, co-chaired the 23rd China-France Strategic Dialogue with French Presidential Foreign Affairs Advisor Bonnet in Paris. On the same day, France decided to lift entry restrictions on tourists from China.
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Sweden
On February 16, the Swedish government announced that it would lift temporary restrictions on arrivals from China starting from February 18.
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Switzerland
The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health issued a statement on January 11 saying that the Omicron strain currently circulating in China poses very little risk to the Swiss population and health system, and there is no need to require travelers from China to undergo compulsory COVID-19 testing. The statement said that the Swiss Federal Council discussed the latest EU recommendations on measures to be taken against people entering the EU by air that day. The committee decided that Switzerland should not require compulsory coronavirus testing for travelers from China at this time.
Open visa exemption
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Iran
The “Joint Statement of the People’s Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Iran” announced on February 16 mentioned that China welcomes Iran’s announcement to implement visa exemption for Chinese tourists. The two sides agree to inject new impetus into tourism cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, and appreciate the two countries. The positive role of intergovernmental agreements on cultural cooperation.
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Maldives
On February 17, according to the official WeChat message of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the “Agreement between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Maldives on Mutual Visa Exemption” has officially come into effect. Chinese citizens holding a valid Chinese passport who plan to stay in the Maldives for no more than 30 days for short-term purposes such as tourism, business, visiting relatives, transit, etc. are exempt from visa requirements.
Previously, according to Xinhua News Agency, at noon local time on January 18, 2023, China Capital Airlines flight JD455 landed smoothly at Velana International Airport in the Maldives. While the passenger plane was taxiing, the Maldivian government specially arranged fire trucks to spray giant water jets on both sides to warmly welcome the arrival of Chinese tourists with a water gate ceremony. This is the first direct flight from China to the Maldives after China recently optimized and adjusted its epidemic prevention policies, carrying more than 190 Chinese passengers. According to the crew, domestic tourists are very enthusiastic about traveling to the Maldives, and many parents take their children out to play during the holidays. 中文��Ambassador to Maldives Wang Lixin and Maldives Minister of Tourism Mausoom attended the welcome ceremony and took photos with the crew and tourists. Wang Lixin told reporters that tourism is the pillar industry of the Maldives. The arrival of Chinese tourists will help the Maldives’ post-epidemic economic recovery, and will also help promote cultural exchanges and people-to-people exchanges between China and Maldives. The Chinese Embassy in Malaysia reminds tourists to take precautions against the epidemic and pay attention to safety. We hope that everyone will come happily, have fun and return safely.
Mao Soom said in an interview with reporters that Chinese tourists have made a great contribution to Maldives tourism. The Maldives originally planned to attract 1.8 million foreign tourists this year. With the increase of Chinese tourists With the arrival of the new year, the original target number is expected to increase by at least 10%. Before the outbreak, China had been the Maldives’ largest source of tourists for many years. In 2019, nearly 300,000 Chinese tourists visited Maldives, accounting for about 17% of the total number of foreign tourists received by the Maldives that year. Raid, a staff member of the travel agency, said that he is very happy to see Chinese tourists coming back, which is undoubtedly good news for his travel agency and the entire country. It is understood that on February 6, my country piloted the resumption of national travel agencies and online travel companies to operate outbound group tours and “air tickets + hotel” business for Chinese citizens to 20 countries, and at the same time resumed inbound and outbound group tours to Hong Kong and Macao. According to a number of travel agencies and online travel platforms, a large number of outbound tour groups will be launched one after another from today. Among the first-release tour groups across the country, most of the destinations most favored by Chinese tourists are concentrated in Thailand, Singapore, Maldives and other places.
A large number of international flights resumed after the holidays, which further facilitated outbound travel, and bookings for outbound travel products also increased accordingly. Ctrip data shows that in the week after the Spring Festival, the number of bookings for outbound group tours and “air tickets + hotel” packaged products increased more than three times compared with the week during the holiday. “This data reflects that tourists are gradually regaining confidence in outbound travel. At the same time, travel agencies have more abundant products on the shelves, providing people with more diverse choices when going abroad.” said Jiang Wen, CEO of Ctrip Group Travel.
According to the China Consular Service Network, as of February 16, the People’s Republic of China has concluded mutual visa exemption agreements with the following 150 countries. Chinese citizens generally do not need to apply for a visa in advance for short-term travel to the following countries with applicable passports. </span
