Tourists surge back to Africa to experience a sense of adventure, Yang Feiyue reports.
The spectacles are there: wildlife migration, exotic culture, vast prairies and cascading waterfalls. Now, there are more spectators as favorable policies put the sites in sight for Chinese travelers.
"From the tourist bookings at the moment, the demand for African destinations is showing remarkable growth, with overall bookings for Africa increasing by approximately 30 to 35 percent year-on-year," says Xu Ning, product manager for African operations at a Beijing-based travel agency, Utour.
"The summer and the upcoming September-October period coincide with the best time to view the great animal migration in Africa, making it the prime season for African travel," Xu adds.
In recent years, with the increase in direct flights between China and Africa and the relaxation of visa policies, the potential of Chinese tourism to Africa has been unleashed, leading to deeper cooperation between the two in the tourism sector.
According to the data from the major intelligent travel platform Flight Master, as of May, the overall recovery rate of flights between China and Africa had reached 130.6 percent, compared to the same period of the pre-pandemic level.
Among these, Egypt's recovery rate stood at 241.7 percent, Kenya's at 150 percent, and both South Africa and Algeria achieved 100 percent.
Since last year, Zambia has proceeded to ease visa restrictions, allowing visitors from China to enter the country visa-free.
Angola announced last year a unilateral visa-free entry policy for citizens of 98 countries and regions, including China. Since January this year, the Kenyan government has implemented a visa-free policy for global tourists, allowing them to enter without applying for a visa, requiring only a travel permit via an electronic platform.
