Will Chinese Tourists Visit A Re-Opened Europe?

What happened France released a color-coded map laying out eased entry protocols for the summer travel season, featuring eased restrictions that apply to seven countries deemed "green." Meanwhile, visitors from countries colored “orange” will need a negative COVID-19 test even if vaccinated. China, among other countries such as Britain and the US, is counted as orange. A plan to start lifting border controls should assist France's crucial tourism industry as the country emerges from its third pandemic lockdown. However, Chinese netizens had negative reactions toward the new policy, and many commented that they would not visit France at the current stage except for necessary business travel. The Jing Take According to the Institute of Medical Biology at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, China has administered more than 845 million vaccine doses as of June 10. Despite the massive vaccine injections, many Chinese are still conservative about traveling abroad. Given the multiple outbreaks overseas, Chinese citizens have reservations about the credibility of foreign governments on their pandemic control. Meanwhile, France is hurting its chances at drawing Chinese luxury shoppers to its shores now that luxury houses have rolled out aggressive China strategies to leverage consumption repatriation while also taking advantage of domestic duty-free retail in the post-pandemic era. Given that health concerns are still the priority for Chinese travelers and China has been building up its local luxury scene, welcoming back one of the segments with the strongest buying power is knotty for Europe in the short-medium term. The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.

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Will Chinese Tourists Visit A Re-Opened Europe?