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.

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.

Travel advisors specializing in China told Open Jaw 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. “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.

“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.

At its height, more than 100 return flights connected the two countries 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.