China May Have More to Lose If Borders Open to Tourists

(Bloomberg) -- The deep freeze on international tourism due to Covid restrictions has been tough on most Asian economies, but for China, borders closed to tourists is a net positive, according to Bloomberg Economics’ research. When borders reopen to tourists, countries that ran large surpluses on their tourism accounts pre-Covid -- Thailand and New Zealand among others -- stand to gain the most, writes Asia Chief economist Chang Shu. China is in the opposite camp, along with South Korea and the Philippines. Border reopening could bring back tourism deficits for them, dragging on GDP growth, according to Shu.

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