China group tourism revival clouded by weak economy

TOKYO -- China's move to lift a ban on group travel to Japan, the U.S., South Korea and scores of other countries around the world sent shares in Asia tourism-related companies higher on Thursday on hopes for an inbound travel boom, even as economists say a slowdown in the world's No. 2 economy is suppressing consumer spending there.

Although individual tourists have been able to travel more recently, the group travel that had been a mainstay of regional tourism had remained banned since January 2020 to combat the spread of COVID-19.