From 28 July, Australian carrier Qantas Airlines will suspend its flights between Sydney and Shanghai due to low demand. A remarkable decision since the service has only been resumed for nine months after a break caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Historically speaking, travel between China and Australia has been of great importance. Before the pandemic, the Australian tourism industry leaned heavily on Chinese tourists, China being its top tourist source market. Now, arrivals from China are at 47% compared to 2019, ranking the country down to the fourth biggest tourist source market.
“Since borders reopened, Chinese visitors have been slow to return to Australia, despite aviation capacity increasing”, said Margy Osmond, CEO of industry group Tourism & Transport Forum Australia.
Since Covid, the demand for travel between Australia and China has not recovered as strongly as expected. In some months, our flights to and from Shanghai have been operating around half-full.
Cam Wallace, Qantas International CEO
@ameliamcguiree interesting story about QANTAS and flights to China which QANTAS states it is cancelling due to the lack of tourists. I ask you just check out the cost of the flights QANTAS is offering compared to any Chinese airline there's a massive difference.
— norman pine DCM (@thelifeofnorman) May 14, 2024
“We’re always looking to ensure that we have the right aircraft, on the right routes and at the right time of year to best meet the needs of our customers. We’ll continue to maintain a presence in China through our partners and our existing flights to Hong Kong and look to return to Shanghai in the future,” Qantas International CEO, Cam Wallace, said.
The aircraft previously used on that route will be redirected to other destinations, such as Hong Kong, Manila, Singapore, and Bengaluru. Qantas will however continue to monitor the demand for a direct flight to Shanghai and will be ready to intervene when necessary.
It seems like a domestic economic slowdown is making the Chinese international tourism industry recover slower than others. Flights between the United States and China are recovering particularly slowly, according to the International Air Transport Association, with a 16.5% level compared to before the pandemic. Globally, the fall of the Chinese tourist numbers is expected to cost the international tourism industry up to 130 billion dollars this year, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. According to China’s aviation regulator, however, international flights are expected to return to 80% of pre-Covid levels by the end of 2024.
