Clear decision

Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland, said, "Any initiative from the Chinese government that gives travelers more confidence to take vacations in Europe is a welcome sign and should help encourage Chinese tourists to travel again when the time is right."

While vaccine passports have been an "ongoing conversation in many countries that are considering reopening their tourism destinations … a clear decision has been made by the Chinese authorities, and this initiative should have significance in promoting healthy and safe travel," Gibbons said, referring to the launch by China on March 9 of the international travel health certificate.

"It is very clear from consumer research across countries that demand for (post-pandemic) travel is high. In relation to China, the sentiment coming from our global inbound operators is very much the same, with travel agents and operators reporting high interest and demand," Gibbons said.

A recent survey of more than 8,300 people age 16 and older in the United Kingdom by market research company Ipsos MORI found that 78 percent were in favor of vaccine passports to travel abroad safely.

Last year, global tourism experienced its worst year on record, with international arrivals falling by 74 percent, according to the World Tourism Organization. The collapse in international travel equates to an estimated loss of $1.3 trillion in export revenues, more than 11 times the loss recorded during the global economic crisis in 2008-09, according to the organization.

"Any new (agreed) or required initiative that helps us get tourism flowing again will be welcome," Gibbons said.

In recent years, Ireland has reaped the benefits as more Chinese travelers visited long-haul destinations.

Tourism Ireland figures show there were more than 103,000 Chinese visits to the country in 2019, up from 22,000 in 2011.

"These figures reflect the success of our increased activity in China since 2007－running sales missions, along with workshops with consumer awareness programs using WeChat and other digital platforms," Gibbons said.

The number of Chinese visiting Ireland rose significantly in 2017 and 2018, due in part to Tourism Ireland's marketing campaigns.

Direct air links have been another important factor in the dramatic rise in the number of Chinese visitors to Ireland.

Gibbons said: "Until the pandemic took hold, we had direct air access from Beijing and Hong Kong to Dublin. Unfortunately, for obvious reasons, these routes have been suspended. We are hopeful that we can restart some of these routes and marketing initiatives in the future."