China is reportedly looking at finally relaxing some of its Covid border regulations.
New draft rules have been announced by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism reports Reuters, which will allow tourists to visit destinations and attractions just inside its border.
While locations and dates have not been revealed, the new regulations would allow tour groups to choose the port of entry and exit “flexibly”.
China shares a border with 14 countries.
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It is one of the last in the world to maintain a zero-tolerance strategy for Covid, closing down cities and neighbourhoods to isolate outbreaks.
Neighbouring Hong Kong looks set to drop its requirement for hotel quarantines.
Chief Executive John Lee says it is gradually reopening up to the world again.
“We know for the epidemic control, there’s impact on connectivity to the world," Lee said.
"We want to have the maximum connectivity to the world and to reduce inconvenience related to quarantine rules. We are working towards that direction in an orderly manner."
Other countries in Asia have adopted different approaches. Vietnam and Thailand are now completely open to tourists, while Japan has been only allowing in tour groups, however plans are underway to reopen the country fully.
On September 7, the cap on daily international arrivals was raised from 20,000 to 50,000 and foreign visitors were allowed to enter Japan on package tours without guides, under certain circumstances. Those caps on international arrivals are expected to be axed soon.
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