SINGAPORE -- With the arrival of the Year of the Dragon, China’s travel sector is expected to deliver a strong performance over the Spring Festival, particularly on the international front as air capacity continues to resume, according to leading aviation analytics company Cirium.

Data from Cirium reveals that China’s top 10 international destinations have largely returned to pre-pandemic rankings, with Thailand, Japan and South Korea back at the top three positions after dipping to pandemic lows in recent years. Other interesting movements in rankings include the entry of Australia and Macau, and the absence of the United States and Cambodia since February 2019.

While overall seat capacity on China’s international routes (non-mainland) are still 27% behind pre-pandemic levels, there are three bright spots where capacity has surpassed 2019 levels. Scheduled capacity in February 2024 show Bangkok as the city with most arrivals from China, but Macau (+8%), Singapore (+6%) and Tokyo (+2%) show the largest improvements from 2019.

Recent changes in visa requirements, particularly in Southeast Asia will potentially bolster international travel from China. In recent months, Thailand has waived visa requirements while Malaysia will offer 30-day visa-free travel for Chinese citizens. Singapore has also announced plans for the same, which comes as a timely boost for Spring Festival travel.

On the domestic front, China’s seat capacity continues to perform strongly, growing 26% in Feb 2024 against pre-pandemic levels, fuelled by the addition of flights by China’s big three airlines, Air China, China Eastern and China Southern, making Guangzhou (CAN), Shenzhen (SZX) and Beijing (PEK) the busiest airports in China this Spring Festival.