Travel abroad, group tour bookings expected to gradually take flight

More Chinese tourists have prepared to travel abroad this year and the May Day holiday is expected to embrace a travel peak with the gradual recovery of the market and related services.

This year, the outbound tourism market is expected to see a gradual recovery, depending on factors such as flight capacities, visa policies, COVID-19 impacts and people's willingness to spend, industry experts observed.

Since China resumed outbound group tours to 20 selected countries on Feb 6, a large number of groups have set out from Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Ningbo of Zhejiang province, Guangzhou, Guangdong province and Xi'an, Shaanxi province, according to Nanjing-based online travel agency Tuniu Corp.