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Families hoping to gather in Metro Vancouver or China for the Lunar New Year face a damper on their plans not only because of new COVID-19 testing requirements, but also because flights are tight, travel agents say.
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Starting January 5, passengers flying to Canada from Hong Kong, Macau and other mainland Chinese cities must provide a negative COVID-19 test result, taken within two days prior to departure, to their airline. .
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It comes as a sudden lifting of strict measures in December has led to a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in China. At the same time, China this week ended its requirement that travelers return to quarantine, making it easier for its citizens to go abroad for the first time since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
The Public Health Agency of Canada’s requirement for travelers from Hong Kong and other places in China to test negative will be in effect for 30 days and includes the period around Lunar New Year, which begins on January 22 this year. .
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Other countries, including the US, Japan, South Korea, France, Spain, Italy, India, Israel and Australia, have set similar requirements, citing the limited availability of epidemiological and other data on the rise in cases in China. .
On top of this, there aren’t many flights to and from Vancouver yet, so fares can be very expensive, said Marian Lam of JBC Travel Canada.
Some return tickets are rising from $2,800 to more than $3,000 and up, said Glynnis Chan of Happy Times Travel and Tour Ltd.
While there are two airlines that run multiple flights a day from Hong Kong to Vancouver, Chan said most airlines with flights to Vancouver from other cities like Beijing and Shanghai only operate them once a week.
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It means that people looking to celebrate the Lunar New Year with family members could plan to meet up in other destinations that are easier to reach, Lam said.
“Families can choose to fly in from Beijing and Vancouver and meet up in Bangkok or Singapore. It could be cheaper and be a good destination for everyone.”
However, you will still need to be aware of the changing requirements for some of these other destinations that have traditionally been very popular for Lunar New Year travel.
On Saturday, the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand said that, starting this week, it will require all international travelers to prove that they are fully vaccinated or provide a letter certifying that they have recovered from COVID within the last six months.
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