BEIJING, May 22 (INP): To celebrate the China-Pakistan Year of Tourism Exchanges, Pakistan Tourism Website was launched here on Monday by the Pakistani Embassy. The Chinese-language website, namely Discover Batie (also known as Discover Iron-clad Friend Pakistan), was launched to popularize Pakistan’s rich repertoire of culture and tourism resources across China, according to Gwadar Pro. Also recommended routes, visa processing instructions, and many other resources are provided on the website.

Speaking on the occasion, Pakistani Ambassador to China Moin ul Haque pinpointed that Pakistan has rich potential of tourism due to its rich culture, geographical and biological diversity, and history, and that Pakistan as China’s friend has made a lot of preparation to welcome Chinese tourists. “Pakistan welcomes Chinese tourists and has set up relevant tourism organizations and committees, introduced favourable policies to facilitate visas and promote the development and rejuvenation of tourism,” he added.

According to United Nations World Tourism Organization, China was one of the world's major outbound tourism contributors before the outbreak of the pandemic. China has resumed outbound tourism after downgrading COVID-19 management measures from Class A to B earlier this year. China recently concluded its five-day May Day holiday that ended on May 3. After experiencing a solid recovery in consumption in the 1st quarter of the year, the country’s holiday spending mirrored vitality and resilience of the world's second-largest economy. 

Chinese people made 274 million domestic trips during the five-day break, soaring 70.83 percent from the same holiday of last year and up about 19 percent from 2019 before the COVID-19 outbreak, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said. Border inspection agencies across China have seen an average of over 1.25 million inbound and outbound trips made per day during the 2023 May Day holiday, an increase of about 2.2 times compared with the same period last year, said the National Immigration Administration (NIA) on May 4. Inbound trips reached 3.12 million, while about 3.15 million outbound trips were made, said the NIA.

The “removal of quarantine requirements in January 2023 could usher in a renewed demand for trips abroad. [...] Chinese tourists have maintained a strong desire to travel internationally and are willing to pay for this experience,” reads the recently released McKinsey report titled Outlook for China tourism 2023: Light at the end of the tunnel. Eyeing the great potential in this, the global tourism market has responded warmly to this change and actively welcomed Chinese tourists. To hold the Pakistan-China Year of Tourism Exchanges in 2023 will greatly help improve people-to-people contacts and especially promote tourism cooperation between China and Pakistan.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP