Tencent has announced a collaboration with South African Tourism’s Beijing office to entice more Chinese tourists into visiting the country. In 2018, the spend from Chinese tourists in South Africa increased 69 per cent, from R1.4 billion to R2.4 billion.

Emaar Hospitality Group is strengthening its market outreach to China with a sales and marketing partnership agreement with Youli Hospitality Consulting. As part of the agreement, the company will promote the hotels under Emaar Hospitality Group’s premium luxury Address Hotels + Resorts and upscale lifestyle Vida Hotels & Resorts.

Tourism Ireland is doubling its marketing investment in China, to €1 million, and will also double its marketing team to 12 over the coming months. The destination aims to grow Chinese visitor numbers to 200,000 by 2025.

Chinese authorities have suspended the use of the Boeing 737 Max 8 by domestic carriers following the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft over the weekend. It was the second fatal accident involving the aircraft type following its launch in 2017.

Tourism Ireland has welcomed the inaugural Hainan Airlines flight from Shenzhen, in south-eastern China, to Dublin. This is the second service from mainland China to Ireland – with Hainan operating a service from Beijing since last year.

The European Travel Commission has published a report quantifying the potential impacts of visa facilitation for Chinese travellers on European tourism.