Chinese visitors answer Africa's call of the wild

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By Cheng Si (China Daily) 09:23, September 09, 2024

Tourists take a hot air balloon ride over Serengeti National Park in Tanzania in July. (CHINA DAILY)

Tourism experts are optimistic about the growth of China's outbound travel to Africa, fueled by deepening cooperation and Chinese travelers' emerging passion for exotic destinations.

Travel industry statistics for the recently completed summer holiday period, from early July to late August, showed positive results. Qunar, a travel portal, said that flight bookings from China to Africa for the period increased 1.2-fold year-on-year, with the top destinations being Egypt, Tanzania, Kenya, Morocco, and South Africa.

Qunar said the diversity of natural landscapes and the variety of cultural and natural attractions, such as the majestic pyramids in Egypt and the great migration of animals, are enticing more Chinese tourists. Additional flights and more friendly visa policies have also increased the continent's attractiveness for Chinese visitors, it said.

Tanzania's breathtaking landscapes and extraordinary wildlife are still vivid in the mind of 35-year-old Sui Qing. A livestreaming anchor in Shanghai, Sui spent 10 days traveling through the East African country in late May with six friends.

Tourism experts are optimistic about the growth of China's outbound travel to Africa, fueled by deepening cooperation and Chinese travelers' emerging passion for exotic destinations.

Travel industry statistics for the recently completed summer holiday period from early July to late August showed positive results. Qunar, a travel portal, said that flight bookings from China to Africa for the period increased 1.2-fold year-on-year, with the top destinations being Egypt, Tanzania, Kenya, Morocco, and South Africa.

Qunar said the diversity of natural landscapes and the variety of exotic cultural and natural attractions, such as the majestic pyramids in Egypt and the great migration of animals, are enticing more Chinese tourists. Additional flights and more friendly visa policies have also increased the continent's attractiveness for Chinese visitors, it said.

Tanzania's breathtaking landscapes and extraordinary wildlife are still vivid in the mind of 35-year-old Sui Qing. A livestreaming anchor in Shanghai, Sui spent 10 days traveling through the East African country in late May with six friends.

"Africa has been one of my dream travel destinations ever since I was a kid," she said. "I planned to go there when I was in college but failed to do so because I didn't save enough money.

"I've traveled to Russia, Spain, France, and many other European destinations after making a good living in recent years, and I decided to go to Africa to fulfill the wish of the younger me," she said.

Sui said most of the travel expenses went on the flights and accommodation, which came to about 50,000 yuan ($7,000) per person. "My friends and I booked a tailored group tour for our safety, and we all thought the trip was worth the money. We got very professional services both from the hotel staff and tour guides, who were kind and friendly to us Chinese people," she said.

"I saw many animals like lions, zebras, and elephants at very close range, and I wanted to cry when I saw these animals — how beautiful and amazing nature is."

Sui said the group traveled during a relatively slack tourism period in Tanzania, and the prices of flights and accommodation may have doubled for the great migration of animals, which started in June.

Chinese tourists are welcomed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, on Feb 11, 2023. (Photo/Xinhua)

Rich attractions

Africa has grown rapidly in popularity with the Chinese public over the past 15 years, thanks to deepening cooperation with China on the economy, education, and technology, experts and tourism industry insiders said. This has piqued the interest of more travelers from the mainland wanting to experience Africa in person, they added.

"China's outbound tourism to Africa started to scale upward around 2010 because of the addition of flights and optimized visa policies to the continent," said Yang Jinsong, director of the International Institute of the China Tourism Academy.

"Educational programs aired on some state-run channels popularizing knowledge about Africa and its landscape have also stimulated people's curiosity and yearning to travel there."

African countries' increased involvement in the Belt and Road Initiative for more than a decade has also burnished their reputation and popularity with Chinese people, which has benefited the continent's tourism industry.

Li Peng, who is in charge of long-distance tours for travel portal Tuniu, said Africa has attracted more adventurous young Chinese travelers in recent years. Middle-aged travelers with deep pockets and overseas travel experience used to be the main Chinese tourists to Africa.

Flights between China and Africa had been steadily increasing until the COVID-19 pandemic hit in late 2019.

"As tourism destinations have resumed operations in the post-epidemic era, so have the flights," said Li.