China's sticking to its border policies will keep the heat up on tourism-dependent economies, says Fitch

THE likelihood that China will stick to its stance on its "zero-Covid" policy will keep the pressure up on tourism-dependent economies such as Thailand, for which China was a key source market pre-pandemic, said Fitch Ratings in a note on Tuesday (Jan 4).

"Fitch Ratings expects a slow recovery in international tourism across Asia Pacific in 2022, despite higher vaccination coverage and stepped-up reopening efforts," said the ratings agency.

It cited factors such as the Omicron Covid-19 variant and local outbreaks and slow vaccination rollouts, especially in South Asia and Asean.