"We miss tourists from China!" Wim Isserif, sales director of SkyTeam, a major global airline operator alliance, told Xinhua News Agency reporters at the 2023 Berlin International Tourism Fair a few days ago that although the number of routes between China and Europe has not yet recovered to the pre COVID-19 level, important progress has been made in route recovery, and "the future is very optimistic". Iserif said that with the orderly resumption of China's outbound tourism, many SkyTeam member operators are stepping up the resumption of China-Europe routes, for example, Virgin Airlines announced that it will return to London and Shanghai in May. The 2023 Berlin International Tourism Fair ended in Berlin, Germany, on the 9th. Like Iserif, exhibitors and industry experts participating in the fair have expressed their expectations for the return of Chinese tourists to the international tourism market. Daniela Kammel, an official in charge of product development and sales at the Munich Tourism Administration of Germany, said at the trade fair that Chinese tourists are interested in the natural landscape and historical sites in Germany, which was an important target customer group of German tourism industry before the epidemic. The orderly recovery of China's outbound tourism will benefit Germany and the global tourism industry. Swando Group, headquartered in Türkiye, is a hotel and resort management and operation enterprise. Kula, the sales and marketing representative of the group, told reporters that the number of Chinese guests in the group's resort hotels in many places around the world has recovered rapidly, and the business operation of the company has even been better than before the epidemic. Kula said that he was optimistic and expected of the industry opportunities brought by Chinese citizens' outbound tourism. The World Tourism Organization of the United Nations previously predicted that the number of international tourists around the world could recover to 80% to 95% of the pre-epidemic level in 2023. The organization said that China's orderly resumption of outbound tourism had a positive impact on the recovery of the global tourism industry. Chen Ruiliang, senior vice president of Ctrip Group and chief executive of the large accommodation business group, told reporters during the trade fair that China's outbound tourism market has recovered significantly this year, and the platform data also shows that users have a strong desire to travel. The search volume related to outbound tourism has exceeded the level of the same period in 2019, and the entire industry is full of expectations for the future. During the Fair, tourism practitioners from all over the world seize the opportunity to attract Chinese tourists. Maria Lioney Gaffe, president of the Tour Guide Association of Cuput Province, Argentina, said that she expected more Chinese tourists to come to Argentina to experience the beauty and magic of nature at a close distance. Chen Guoliang, Chairman of the Malaysian Association of Tourism and Travel Agencies, said that the Malaysian industry has made a lot of preparations to make Chinese tourists feel at home. The Berlin International Tourism Fair, founded in 1966, is one of the largest comprehensive tourism exhibitions in the world. This year's fair attracted about 5500 exhibitors from more than 160 countries and regions around the world. (Xinhua News Agency)