Although Chinese New Year is likely to see international travel rebound for the first time in three years, we will need to wait longer before we see a resurgence in Chinese tourists exploring the globe,” he added.
Some online travel agencies had touted multi-fold surges in searches and bookings since the December 26 border announcement but did not provide data that compares the level of interest to 2019.
ForwardKeys data shows average outbound fares from China were 160 percent higher than in December 2019, though that represented a downward trend since June when flight capacity was even lower and quarantine was required.
Airlines are running at only 11 percent of pre-pandemic international capacity to and from China in January, according to Cirium, though the figure is expected to rise to approximately 25 percent by April based on current data.