The final Covid holdouts in Asia are beginning to reopen for travel – with China as the notable exception

Throughout Asia, borders are being lifted and quarantine protocols are easing as even the last nations clinging to Covid restrictions start to welcome travelers again.

The only exception remains one country: China.

Having endured nearly three years of economic setbacks due to travel disruptions, several countries in the region have recently reopened, providing relief not only to their tourism sectors but also to millions of citizens who faced job insecurity and family separations throughout the pandemic.

However, in China – where the economy has also been hit hard by a stringent zero-Covid strategy involving tight border controls, sudden lockdowns, and mandatory quarantines – the restrictions continue with no clear end in sight, despite rising public dissatisfaction.

Expectations that Beijing might ease its policies after the highly anticipated Communist Party Congress later this month were dashed when the state-run People’s Daily on Tuesday labeled the current approach as the ‘best option.’

In a commentary, the publication emphasized, ‘At times like this, we must recognize that ‘dynamic zero-Covid’ is viable and necessary,’ citing ongoing outbreaks across the country.

It also argued that the zero-Covid strategy had significantly reduced the economic impact of the virus and kept the mortality rate low. ‘We cannot afford to ease prevention and control measures,’ the article stated.

Regions of East Asia begin to open up

China’s position makes it an outlier even within East Asia, where governments have been among the slowest to lift Covid restrictions.

Throughout much of the pandemic, zero-Covid measures were the standard across many regions, with several countries and territories maintaining restrictions even after vaccines became widely accessible in 2021.

In September, Hong Kong – a semi-autonomous Chinese city with its own border policies – ended what had been one of the world’s most stringent quarantine protocols. The move was welcomed by residents eager for travel, business owners, and government sectors reliant on tourism.

In the same month, Taiwan, the self-governing island, took further steps to reopen by allowing visa-free entry for travelers from the United States and the European Union. This followed a reduction in mandatory quarantine from seven to three days for international arrivals starting in June.

Japan, a top tourism destination in Asia, made a highly publicized return to tourism in June 2022, though it initially allowed only group tours instead of individual travelers.

Tourist numbers were slow to pick up, and sensing the unpopularity of this restriction, Japan changed its policy in September, allowing individual tourists to enter without imposing a daily cap on arrivals.

The response was immediate, with Trip.com, a Singapore-based global travel service provider, reporting a surge in bookings and searches for Japan that month. South Korea saw the highest increase, with a 194% rise in bookings to Japan, while European countries like Spain, Germany, and the UK also experienced notable spikes.

South Korea removed quarantine requirements for all international travelers, regardless of their nationality or vaccination status, in June.

It appears this decision has paid off. In August, South Korea welcomed nearly 311,000 arrivals, more than half of whom were tourists, compared to just 97,000 during the same period the previous year, according to the Korean Statistical Information Service.

Southeast Asia's early advantage

Several Southeast Asian nations, where tourism is a key economic driver, gained an early advantage over their East Asian neighbors by starting to open up last year – and are already enjoying the benefits.

Vietnam began allowing foreign tourists to visit select locations under a vaccine passport program in November, and fully reopened in March, three months ahead of schedule.

In 2019, tourism accounted for 12% of Vietnam’s GDP, and officials are eager to return to pre-pandemic levels. By the end of September this year, Vietnam welcomed 1.87 million international visitors, a 16-fold increase compared to the same period in 2021, according to government data.

Nguyen Trung Khanh, director general of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, stated, 'All indicators of the tourism industry have remarkably bounced back,' according to the state-owned news outlet VietnamNet.

'Thanks to a surge in domestic tourism after the Covid-19 pandemic, by mid-year the industry had already achieved its annual targets,' he added.

Thailand began permitting fully vaccinated visitors in November, under a program that was temporarily paused during the Omicron wave. The program resumed earlier this year, and the country has been gradually relaxing restrictions in recent months.

By the fall, Thai officials were celebrating a milestone. Over one million tourists visited in September alone, according to government spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri. The government aims to reach 10 million visitors by the end of the year.

Though still below pre-pandemic levels, with Thailand attracting nearly 40 million visitors in 2019, the country is on a steady recovery path. Tourism is projected to recover to 80% of pre-pandemic levels by next year, Burapachaisri added.

Despite the global economic slowdown, Thailand remains optimistic. 'During the winter, European tourists flock to Thailand to escape the cold,' remarked Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith in October.

China stands as the outlier

These reopenings contrast sharply with the situation in mainland China, where residents have grown accustomed to the possibility of sudden lockdowns.

Last week, China imposed a ban on all 22 million residents of Xinjiang from leaving the region during a Covid-19 outbreak, just weeks after it began easing restrictions from a previous lockdown.

Tourist hotspots have been affected as well – Pingyao, a UNESCO World Heritage city, enforced a snap lockdown after only two Covid cases were reported. Zhangjiajie, known for its scenic national park, did the same over just one case. Last week, hundreds of tourists found themselves stranded at an airport in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province, due to a sudden lockdown.

With less than a week until China's ruling Communist Party convenes its national congress, officials are on high alert. At the congress, leader Xi Jinping is expected to secure a rare third term in power.

In the lead-up to the congress, a particularly sensitive event, authorities across China have been tightening already strict Covid measures and enforcing more lockdowns.

There are growing indications that zero-Covid measures could remain in place. Recently, Shanghai’s Pudong district announced plans to hire over 500 Covid workers on two-year contracts for 'community prevention and control' tasks.

The post, which was shared on the district office's official WeChat account and viewed by Dinogo, has since been removed.

State-run media have intensified their defense of zero-Covid measures in recent days. In a commentary published on Wednesday, People’s Daily suggested that some countries had reopened due to being unable to 'effectively control the epidemic in a timely manner.'

The commentary claimed that outbreaks in the US and Japan served as proof of the 'serious consequences' of relaxing restrictions – despite both countries seeing a drop in cases after their summer surges.

The article emphasized that 'only by maintaining dynamic zero-Covid can we avoid catastrophic losses from an uncontrolled epidemic.' It further asserted that China’s commitment to zero-Covid had been instrumental in safeguarding public health and lives.