The State Council, China's Cabinet, recently gave approval to foreign-invested travel agencies in Shanghai and Chongqing to operate outbound tourism except for trips to Taiwan.

Shanghai and Chongqing are two pilot zones for this new experiment in outbound tourism management. The adjustment started on Oct 8 and is projected to run through April 8, 2024.

The pilot project is intended to deepen China's cooperation with other countries and regions. As per previous State-level regulations, travel agencies with foreign investment were not allowed to operate outbound services for trips to overseas destinations, including the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan, to Chinese residents.

Cheng Chaogong, a senior researcher with Tongcheng Travel, told ThePaper in a recent interview the adjustment necessary to optimize tourism market management, also of great importance to the nation's tourism development in the next four years as travel agencies must improve themselves with higher professionalism and innovations during the period.