With few entry tests, SE Asia may gain most from China’s travel revival

Southeast Asia’s tourist economies are set to be leading beneficiaries of China’s scrapping of travel bans as they have steered clear of the COVID-19 tests before entry that Europe, Japan and the United States have imposed on Chinese visitors.
Even as the virus tears through its 1.4 billion people, the world’s second largest economy is opening its borders from Sunday, a move that promises to unleash a wave of travellers eager for diversion after three years of strict curbs at home.
Such newly mobile Chinese tourists will opt for “minimal hassle” and head for destinations that do not demand testing, which in turn stands to benefit Southeast Asia, said CIMB economist Song Seng Wun.
“The busier regional airports are, the better it is for their economies,” he added.
While Australia, Britain, India, Japan and the United States are among the nations that require a negative COVID-19 test from inbound Chinese, Southeast Asian countries, from Cambodia to Indonesia and Singapore, have all declined such requirements.