How do Chinese tourists stranded abroad return home?

In 2019, the new coronavirus appeared in many countries around the world. Many countries have imposed restrictions on tourists from China. More than 7,500 flights were cancelled, and a large number of tourists went abroad around the Spring Festival. How can Chinese tourists still stranded abroad return home?

Due to the epidemic, Xue Qiyuan was turned away by other countries. On January 25, Xue Qiyuan led a team of 15 people from Beijing to Jordan via Tel Aviv for a visit. According to the original plan, they were supposed to leave Jordan on the 31st, enter through Israel's land pass, and then return to Beijing.

But I didn’t expect the epidemic to be so ferocious, spreading thousands of miles in just a few days. "No entry allowed, 16 people returned to customs with all their luggage, at a loss."

At noon on January 31, 2008, the entire group was refused entry. Xue Qiyuan immediately contacted the 24-hour rescue hotline of the Chinese Embassy in Israel, and the news he received was not optimistic: he was currently unable to enter Israel and needed to wait for coordination.

The first class lasts 4 hours. This situation reminded her of SARS many years ago. At that time, she had just been in the industry for a year and was working as a tour guide in Beijing. After the epidemic spread, they were the only group in the Summer Palace. After the attraction, the guests hurried back and were very nervous.

But no matter how nervous I was, at least it was at home at that time. Unlike now, I was not only rejected, but also in another country thousands of miles away, which made people feel uncomfortable.

Reluctantly, we negotiated a return trip.

The experience of Xue Qiyuan’s team is the same experience shared by many Chinese overseas tourists since the end of January.

With the spread of the epidemic, the international situation has undergone tremendous changes. The "Latest Immigration Policies of Overseas Countries" on the Ctrip APP homepage shows that currently, the number of countries and regions that have adopted "special" policies such as entry restrictions and visa tightening for Chinese citizens and/or residents of other countries who have been to China within 14 days has increased to 80 There are many popular destinations for Americans such as the United States, Australia, and Japan.

At the same time, many international airlines have canceled flights to and from China. As of February 1, the number of international flight cancellations exceeded 7,500. On February 2, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines canceled 49.87% and 37.71% of international flights respectively.

Xue Qiyuan and his party happened to encounter the critical point of "entry restrictions" and "flight cancellations". On January 30, the Israeli Ministry of Health suddenly announced a ban on the landing of all flights from China, and the relevant ban took effect immediately. Prior to this, El Al had announced a two-month suspension of flights between Israel and China.

Local media said that on January 31, the last flight from China landed in Israel. This was the last flight from China until at least March 25.

When Xue Qiyuan and his party were in trouble, Ctrip Jordan International Airport and Beijing Office joined in to provide assistance. On the 31st, the three parties assisted the team to return to Amman, Jordan, check into the hotel again, and stepped up coordination to help them return as soon as possible.

After returning to the hotel, the members took a group photo to commemorate the night of "collective rejection". There was no national flag when taking pictures, so they put the national flag on their mobile phones and computer pages and held it in front of them to express support and encouragement from far away for the motherland.

Xue Qiyuan also cheered.

“Having experienced SARS, I know what I have to face next. The epidemic will hit the entire industry, and for a long time, we will not have a team leader. But the more this time, the more confidence and hope are needed. Do it for yourself, for the industry, for the motherland, and to serve the last batch of guests.”

On the afternoon of February 1, after confirmation from many parties, the team finally saw the light: passengers with valid return tickets can return. Enter Israel 6 hours in advance on the same day, then go directly to the airport and return to China.

Return to the motherland and help our compatriots who are in trouble.

At 6 a.m. on February 2, the group set off again, leaving Jordan and entering Israel.

This time, it finally went smoothly. At 9 a.m. local time, Xue Qiyuan and his party entered Israel. At 13:35, everyone boarded the plane and landed in Beijing at 5 a.m. on February 3, Beijing time.

On the first day of working in China, everyone smiled and said: "Go back to the embrace of the motherland and continue fighting

In fact, Ctrip's attention to overseas tourists has never been greater. It has not been stopped.

On January 27, 2008, the General Office of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a document suspending domestic and overseas group tours. Ctrip responded proactively and urgently suspended group tours with a scheduled departure date of February. Cancellation safeguards have been issued for tour groups before the 29th.

In the past few days, only a small number of overseas tour groups, like Xue Qiyuan’s team, left before the 27th in the face of large-scale cancellations of overseas routes. and a series of immigration policy updates, their return has become a concern for everyone.

On February 2, 2008, Ctrip launched an emergency mechanism to increase security for the teams affected by the cancellation of their return flights. We try our best to help tourists return home smoothly by changing tickets, transferring flights, etc.

For example, another Ctrip team originally planned to return from Canada on January 31, because Air Canada was suspended from January 30 to February 29, 2008. The team leader conducted on-site coordination with the ground plane for the first time. However, since it was difficult to quickly sign out the team tickets, it was eventually coordinated that the passengers could apply for travel insurance claims after returning to the country to ensure the smooth return of the team.

After returning to China, the first thing Xue Qiyuan did was to give her advice based on his own experience:

1. If the change process is not smooth enough, under the current circumstances, you can consider It is more efficient to purchase new tickets and cancel the original tickets at the same time; however, due to the shortage of resources, the current price of new tickets is much higher than the price of consumers' original tickets, so you can continue to pay attention to the cancellation policy of the airline. If the refund is caused by airline changes, the airline will generally cancel the original ticket without any damage.

2. It is currently safer to buy domestic air tickets to return to the country; after returning to the country, if the domestic return flight is canceled and it is inconvenient to change the ticket, you can consider taking the high-speed rail home;

3. Stranded passengers You can call your local Chinese embassy for help. Some countries bordering China, such as Vietnam, can return home through the help provided by the embassy;

4. If you encounter an emergency during the trip, you can also contact the "Ctrip Global Travel SOS Platform" for support and assistance.

This Spring Festival is of great significance to everyone in China. After this journey home, Xue Qiyuan hopes that the epidemic will pass as soon as possible. Because “Everyone who has left their hometown knows that the peace and prosperity of the motherland is our greatest reliance.

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