CHINA REOPENS BORDERS; LIFTS VISA SUSPENSIONS

China has reopened its borders to foreign travelers for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic by allowing all categories of visas to be issued, reports Travel Market Report. As of March 15, travelers can now apply for Chinese travel visas and foreign offices can process said applications. China has also stated that it will honor valid visas issued prior to the country's shutdown in March 2020. Additionally, China has reopened visa-free entry to some parts of the country, including in Hainan Island and for cruise ship travelers sailing into Shanghai. Individuals traveling to China must still undergo a COVID-19 test within 48 hours before their departure and complete customs health declaration forms upon arrival.

AMTRAK CONSIDERS EXPANDING SERVICE BETWEEN NYC AND TEXAS

Amtrak has announced that it is partnering with the Southern Rail Commission (SRC) to apply for federal funds to study a new service between New York City, Atlanta, and Dallas/Fort Worth by extending a section of the popular Amtrak Crescent train from Meridian, Mississippi, to Texas. Amtrak has been exploring this idea for more than 20 years, but last year’s Congressional passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act now creates new opportunities to study possible expanded long-distance Amtrak service. “This has the potential to be the first new Amtrak service of its kind in more than 25 years and it would come in an area that has long been underserved by passenger rail,” said SRC Chairman Knox Ross. “Now that we have a way forward for new state-sponsored corridor service between New Orleans and Mobile, the I-20 route has been identified by the SRC as its next priority.” If the study produces a sufficient business case for a direct connection between the Northeast Corridor and fast-growing areas in the South and West, Amtrak would partner with the SRC and others to seek federal capital and operating support to initiate the service.

SOUTHWEST UNVEILS PLAN TO STRENGTHEN OPERATIONAL RESILIENCY

Southwest Airlines has outlined the actions being implemented to strengthen the carrier’s operational resiliency for travelers and employees, reports Travel Pulse. After a number of delays and cancellations during the Winter Holiday travel period, Southwest CEO Bob Jordan announced the development of a three-part Tactical Action Plan to boost operational resiliency in key areas. As part of the Tactical Action Plan, Southwest will accelerate operational investments, improve its approach to winter operations, and align various Network Planning and Network Operations Control Teams under one senior leader for better execution of plans. Earlier this month, the carrier selected Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its preferred cloud provider. Working with AWS will help the airline enhance the passenger journey, optimize operations, and invest in IT infrastructure. To avoid encountering similar issues faced in December, Southwest will use AWS storage, container, and serverless compute services to optimize operational applications that support gate assignments, ground operations, flight operations, and aircraft maintenance.

UNITED RESUMES SAN FRANCISCO-HONG KONG SERVICE

United Airlines has resumed service between San Francisco and Hong Kong with daily flights using Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, reports Business Travel News. Service resumed on March 6, marking the first passenger flight between the two cities since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’re thrilled to be able to return to Hong Kong after nearly three years enabling us to provide our Hong Kong customers with our convenient daily nonstop service to San Francisco again,” said Walter Dias, United’s Regional Director of Sales for Greater China, Korea, and Southeast Asia. “Our early-morning San Francisco arrival time and late-evening San Francisco departure time will offer more than 70 one-stop destinations in the mainland U.S., Canada and Latin America via our hub in San Francisco. We have nearly 40 years of long history in the Hong Kong market and our commitment to the market remains unchanged.” In addition, United is currently operating between San Francisco and Shanghai four times weekly. That route resumed January 28, but United plans to increase service to daily in May for the summer season.

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL VOLUME TO US IN 2022 REACHED 64 PERCENT OF PRE-PANDEMIC LEVEL

A recent report from the National Travel and Tourism Office revealed that the US saw 51 million international visitors in 2022, amounting to 64 percent of its 2019 volume, reports Skift. Outbound travel from the US totaled 80.8 million, down 19 percent from its pre-pandemic volume. According to the report, roughly 24 million travelers visited from overseas (i.e., not Canada and Mexico) up 161 percent from 2021. Western Europe was the largest regional source market with over 10 million travelers. South America came in second with 4.2 million. New York was the largest point of entry in 2022, with 4.5 million visitors, followed by Miami with 3.8 million and Los Angeles at 2 million. In December, international inbound volume rose 46.2 percent year over year to 5 million, representing 73 percent of its pre-pandemic December volume. Overseas traveler volume to the US totaled 2.5 million, representing 94 percent of its pre-pandemic December volume.