Huge Win for Agents, Operators as Canada Lifts Caps on Air Travel with China

Canadian travel advisors and tour operators are feeling lucky with a big treat handed out by the Canadian Transportation Agency.

Last week, the Canadian government removed restrictions on the number of weekly flights that Chinese airlines could operate into Canada.

As the 2022 order that capped services by Chinese carriers at just six round trips per week has been lifted, one expert says flights between the two countries could increase tenfold. That’s outstanding news for Canadian advisors and tour operators who specialize in trips to China.

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1665769905662-0'); });

With the expected influx of carriers such as Air China and China Eastern Airlines, Air Canada has preemptively increased capacity to China. On 30OCT, the carrier advised a resumption of daily non-stop Vancouver-Beijing flights in the new year (15JAN), and a return to daily Vancouver-Shanghai trips, starting even sooner, on 07DEC.

"It’s aways great news for our industry, advisors, and their clients when entry restrictions are lifted," Christine James, CTM, Vice President, Canada, Travel Leaders Network, told Open Jaw. "Furthermore, with the reinstatement of Air Canada flights, demand will definitely ramp up."

Travel advisors specializing in China said the change is very big for outbound travel to the world’s most populous nation. Agents say they’re hoping for a return of pre-pandemic levels of business, despite diplomatic tensions between the two countries.

"This is very welcome news,” Moira Smith, VP Asia & Africa for Goway Travel, said in an email. “Air access to China has continued to operate at a fraction of its pre-COVID levels, even four years later.

“The demand and interest in China is thriving and we're thrilled to have more options to get our travellers there.”

Another advisor said he believes the additional lift will make a huge improvement to the sector as interest in tourism to China has not abated despite the post-pandemic restrictions.

The news is a huge boost for Canadian tourism as well, which has badly missed the vital inbound China market.

“This is good news for Canada,” Beth Potter, President and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, told Open Jaw in an email. “Additional airlift will be welcomed as we look for a much-needed return of visitors from China.”

Unfortunately, Canada still doesn’t have approved destination status from the Chinese government. Potter said that status only applies to groups, not to individuals, and that TIAC will continue to work to get Canada back on that list as it’s important for business events.

"Canada’s people-to-people ties with China have always been strong," Destination Canada President and CEO Marsha Walden said in an email to Open Jaw. "China remains an important market for Canada’s visitor economy and we look forward to welcoming back more travelers as air access improves.

"Our research points to significant pent-up demand among Chinese travelers to visit Canada in the short-term. And, in the longer-term, looking to 2030, we believe air arrivals from China will increase by up to 50% of those in 2019.”

“China was our number one international (overseas) market prior to the pandemic, Andrew Weir, president of Destination Toronto, told Open Jaw in an interview earlier this year. "We had 300,000 Chinese visitors to Toronto. But we’re only at 10% of that."

That number should jump significantly with the flight restrictions eased.

"Overseas travel has been the slowest and last segment of customers to return to Toronto and remains well off the peak of 2019," Weir said in an email to Open Jaw on 31OCT. "While some countries like the U.K., Germany and Mexico are showing momentum in returning to visit Toronto, China persists as a challenge that leaves a hole in the business that is difficult to close."

Weir said it's encouraging to see small numbers of flights return to Canada, "but it will be important to see flights reach deeper into Canada and come back to Toronto, and also for Canada to regain Approved Destination Status before we can seize on the opportunity of Chinese outbound travel as before. In the meantime, our top competitors are deepening their grip on the market, and Canada falls further and further behind each month, making the matter more urgent. "

At its height, more than 100 return flights connected China and Canada per week – but that number plummeted to fewer than 10 after the CTA’s ruling a few years ago, according to the National Post.

Air Canada has been expecting increasing demand for China travel, per Reuters, which also noted that Chinese airlines are accelerating applications for new flights.