Travel industry looks to Chinese tourists to cap post-Covid rebound

Travel industry looks to Chinese tourists to cap post-Covid rebound

The return of Chinese tourists to destinations worldwide will top off a spectacular post-coronavirus global tourism revival this year, according to industry leaders.

Jet makers, airline executives and hotel tycoons at this week's Qatar Economic Forum spoke of an apparently insatiable demand for travel. Chinese tourists, now unshackled from Covid-19 restrictions, will complete the boom, they said.

"The desire to travel has never been greater and the industry is struggling how to respond to that demand," said Boeing chairman David Calhoun as he told of the aviation giant's battle to meet demand for jets.

Leisure travel has overtaken business as the main reason for taking a plane or booking a room, according to Sebastien Bazin, head of Accor, Europe's biggest hotel group.

The northern hemisphere summer travel season is expected to send airline traffic back to levels last seen before the pandemic erupted in December 2019.

Executives said China's free-spending tourists will play a key role in the revival, while putting new pressure on the travel industry.

Hotel group Accor has predicted that "millions" of Chinese could boost travel industry coffers in coming months.

Akbar Al-Baker, Qatar Airways' chief executive, said all of its planes leaving China are "absolutely packed".

"Not only are they paying the fares that