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Hainan resumes South China Sea cruises for the first time since January

The resumption of cruise tourism on Hainan will be gradual, according to authorities

© Guo Cheng/Xinhua

HAIKOU, December 10. /TASS/. The Hainan authorities have resumed cruises in the South China Sea for the first time in 11 months this week, despite the pandemic, announced the provincial transport department.

As the Hainan administration clarified, the decision to restore certain sea tourist routes was made after the authorities were convinced of the stability of the epidemic situation in this southernmost region of China. Tourists are offered to visit the Xisha archipelago (Paracel Islands).

The first tourist liner with tourists on board has already left the port of Hainan's Sanya. The government promises that trips to distant islands are planned to be organized regularly, six to seven times a month. Each tour will last four days. The cost of such a vacation ranges from $ 750 to $ 4,000 per person, depending on the class of the cabin.

The resumption of cruise travel is expected to boost the recovery of tourism, which in China has been hit harder by the pandemic than any other industry. According to the rules, only Chinese citizens and foreigners living in areas with a low level of epidemiological threat (at the moment, these are all administrative units in the continental part of the country, except for certain zones in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (north) and in Sichuan province (southwest) — TASS).

Before traveling, all passengers are required to provide a certificate of negative coronavirus test results using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. In addition, the crew of the vessel during the trip will take control measurements of the body temperature of tourists using infrared thermometers several times. Owners of liners must also ensure a safe social distance between passengers, in connection with which tickets can still be sold for a maximum of 70% of available seats.

The resumption of cruise tourism on Hainan will be gradual, according to authorities. As Chinese experts remind, the final recovery of this industry directly depends on the success of the fight against coronavirus across the world.

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