The surge in travel bookings to and from China and Singapore following the announcement of mutual visa exemption has seen airlines quickly adapting to accommodate the increased demand for flights.
Singapore Airlines spokesperson told Lianhe Zaobao that Singapore Airlines Group currently operates 168 passenger routes to and from 23 cities in mainland China every week, with Scoot and Singapore Airlines operating routes to 17 cities. Following the demand, Singapore Airlines will be adding extra flights to and from Shanghai and Beijing starting from March 31 and May 1 respectively.
China Eastern Airlines has also announced that they will be increasing the number of flights from Shanghai to Singapore in light of the increased demand. Wu Qiwei, general manager of China Eastern Airlines’ Singapore Sales Department, said that China Eastern Airlines will continue to add new routes to China and Singapore in order to meet the need for economic and trade exchanges and personnel exchanges between the two countries.
The impact of the announcement of mutual visa exemptions was felt not only by airlines but also by travel services and hotel booking websites, such as Trip.com. Within an hour of the announcement, the search for Singapore travel products on the website increased by more than 14 times, while the searches for Chinese travel products in Singapore have increased by more than 13 times.
The mutual visa exemption has been a game changer for people like 24-year-old Shi Yue, a student in a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend studying in Singapore. She plans to visit Singapore to celebrate the New Year with her boyfriend during the Spring Festival. The ease of travel brought by the visa exemption is also a great advantage for star-chasers, such as 29-year-old Wang Xia, who looks forward to coming to Singapore to watch a concert in March.
However, visa exemption has also raised some concerns. Zhang Tianfeng, a 33-year-old engineer who had just applied for a tourist visa for his family before the visa exemption was announced, expressed worry over the potential price rises in Singapore as tourists drive consumption during the Chinese New Year.
Overall, the implementation of mutual visa exemption between China and Singapore has already had a significant impact on travel and is expected to continue to foster increased tourism and cross-border travel between the two countries. For more information on Chinese visits and visas, please check the official Facebook page for Lianhe Zaobao.