At about 7:00 a.m., Huang Xing, a 69-year-old Shanghainese, and three "old friends" arrived at Shanghai Pudong International Airport and excitedly got the boarding pass for the flight to Thailand. They are the first batch of outbound group tourists from Shanghai in the past three years. Previously, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China issued the Notice on the Pilot Restoration of the Business of Chinese Citizens' Outbound Team Travel to Relevant Countries by Travel Agencies. From February 6, the pilot restoration of the business of Chinese citizens' outbound team travel and "air ticket+hotel" by national travel agencies and online travel enterprises was carried out. The outbound group tourism of travel agencies, which has been suspended for three years, has officially restarted. Huang Xing's team has 24 Chinese tourists. Zhou Weihong, Deputy General Manager of Spring and Autumn Tourism, who organized the group, said that after landing in Phuket, Thailand, they would be divided into two teams to experience different beaches in Thailand. According to comprehensive travel agency and platform information, Thailand is currently one of the most popular outbound destinations for Chinese tourists. Gu Wei, assistant general manager of Shanghai Airlines International Tourism (Group) Co., Ltd., said that in the early stage of the resumption of outbound group tour and "air ticket+hotel" business, Chinese tourists first choose destinations with relatively convenient entry procedures. In addition, the warm climate in Southeast Asia in February and March makes them popular. "2023, the world, we are coming!" Also on the 6th, more than 40 group tourists flew to Dubai on the Emirates EK363 flight from Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, opening the long-awaited outbound group tour. This group of tourists participated in the 6-day group tour of the United Arab Emirates and the 10-day group tour of Egypt organized by Guangzhou Guangzhilv International Travel Service Co., Ltd. Li Yanling, a tourist from Guangzhou, signed up for a six-day tour of the United Arab Emirates. She said that since her retirement, she has basically arranged one or two outbound trips every year. She originally planned to go to Dubai in the first half of 2020, but was suspended due to the epidemic. Knowing that the outbound group tour was resumed and that the United Arab Emirates was one of the first 20 pilot open countries, she immediately invited her family and friends to sign up for departure. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19, China remained the world's largest outbound tourism market for many years in a row. Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Research Institute, predicted that China's outbound tourism market would show a trend of sustained recovery and accelerated recovery throughout the year. From the perspective of demand, the confidence of Chinese tourists is continuing to recover. According to the relevant survey of Qiongyou.com, more than 90% of users plan to travel abroad within one year, and about one quarter of tourists choose to travel within half a year. From the perspective of supply, China's outbound tourism supply chain has made adequate preparations for market recovery. "The exchange and communication between travel agencies and reception links, including overseas consulates, tourism bureaus, hotels, airline companies and so on, has never stopped. From the continuous training of the core business team during the epidemic, to the rapid launch of relevant products after the release of a series of policies, to the reception of the first batch of routes and the continuous update of the subsequent routes, we are ready for the resumption of outbound tourism business and market recovery." Zhao Wenzhi, president of Guangzhou Guangzhilv International Travel Service Co., Ltd. said. The "group return" of Chinese tourists will also inject strong impetus into the global tourism economy. According to Luo Lan, director of the Shanghai Office of the National Tourism Administration of Thailand, more than 11 million Chinese tourists will visit Thailand in 2019