Global passport ranking revealed: China takes just the 89th spot
Six countries – France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore and Spain – have the world’s most powerful passport, each with visa-free entry to 194 out of 227 travel destinations, according to the Henley Passport Index. China, however, was ranked just 89th in the world, with visa-free entry to 85 out of 227 travel destinations.
Hong Kong, mainland in talks over bringing back multiple-entry visas for Shenzhen residents
Talks are underway between Hong Kong and mainland China to resume a multiple-entry visa scheme for Shenzhen residents before Lunar New Year, a government source has said, with the retail sector praising the potential move as a boost for the economy. But the insider on Thursday also said a final decision had not been made yet, as many cross-border measures required further discussion with mainland officials.
Japan, Korea flight ticket prices in China drop to historic lows (in Chinese)
Recent trends in China show a significant drop in flight ticket prices from mainland to Japan and South Korea, reaching historic lows, according to Chinese media outlet Huxiu.com. For instance, Hangzhou to Jeju Island flights cost just RMB 423 (around USD 59.42) on January 14th, but generally hover around RMB 348 (around USD 48.99). These low prices are expected to continue until January 31st.
Trip.com Group-owned Travix appoints CMO
Amsterdam-headquartered OTA Travix, a firm acquired by Trip.com Group in 2019, has announced the appointment of Mira van Houwelingen as chief marketing officer. Previously, she held key positions such as head of marketing & digital at Moët Hennessy and various marketing roles at Rituals and Unilever.
Trip.com applies for Elasticsearch patent on image search (in Chinese)
Trip.com Group has applied for Elasticsearch patent in China to achieve high performance and high recall retrieval of large image datasets. The patent provides a method, system, device, and storage medium for image retrieval based on Elasticsearch. The process involves acquiring image feature vectors of indexed images, creating indexes, and storing these vectors using Elasticsearch's distributed storage architecture.
Tongcheng Travel, an online travel booking company invested by Tencent and Trip.com Group, has held a customer meeting together with local carrier Sichuan Airlines in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on January 8. They signed a cooperation agreement to expand the travel market in Vietnam jointly.
Booming ice-and-snow economy boosts foreign companies’ confidence in China market
The capital of China’s northernmost province of Heilongjiang, Harbin is renowned as the “crown jewel of ice and snow” in the country. Pierre G. Chidiac of Sofitel Harbin said winter “adventure” journeys will increasingly attract international tourists and businesses.
IHG opens the 700th hotel in Greater China (in Chinese)
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) celebrates a significant milestone with 700 hotels now open in Greater China. IHG operates 19 unique brands globally and 12 of these brands have entered the Greater China market. The total number of open and under-construction hotels in Greater China has exceeded 1,200.
Cathay CEO apologizes for wave of flight cancellations, promises no new service disruptions
Cathay CEO Ronald Lam speaks publicly for first time about saga since wave of flights axed over Christmas and New Year breaks, vows no new rounds of cancellations. "This incident affected the travel arrangements of many travellers and brought a lot of inconveniences, our entire team including myself, feels really sorry," Lam said.
Exhibition on Inca civilization opens in China
An exhibition on the Inca civilization opened Tuesday at the Jinsha Site Museum in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu. This exhibition showcases 168 pieces or sets of exhibits from 14 museums in Peru, including boneware, ceramics, metals, stoneware, woodware, textiles, paintings, and mummies.
