As the visa exemption agreement between China and Thailand is implemented, it signifies that citizens from China can now enjoy visa-free access to all countries in the "Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand" group, speeding up cross-border travel and continuously increasing airport passenger traffic. According to the institutional research records disclosed by Shenzhen Airport on March 5th, the ongoing release of visa exemption benefits has led to a surge in the popularity of outbound travel to the "Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand" region.

Specifically, during the Spring Festival holiday in 2024 (February 10th to 17th), Shenzhen Airport handled a total of 9,347 passenger flights, transporting 1.5705 million passengers, representing increases of 19.9% and 26.8% respectively compared to the Spring Festival period in 2019. Notably, from February 14th onwards, the daily passenger volume exceeded 200,000 for four consecutive days, reaching a peak of 207,500 on February 16th, setting a new record for the highest daily passenger traffic at Shenzhen Airport.

Internationally, Shenzhen Airport supported over 1,000 international passenger flights during the Spring Festival, transporting nearly 150,000 passengers. With the continuous release of visa exemption benefits, the popularity of outbound travel to the "Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand" region has risen, leading to a significant month-on-month increase in passenger volume on routes from Shenzhen to Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Sabah, among others, indicating a strong recovery in the Southeast Asian market.

Shenzhen Airport stated that moving forward, it will continue to collaborate with airlines to expand and densify international passenger routes to destinations such as Nagoya, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur. Taking advantage of the flight season change, the airport will continue to increase capacity deployment in Shenzhen, enhance connectivity with the Jing-Jin-Ji, Yangtze River Delta, and Chengdu-Chongqing city clusters, as well as strategically significant cities, and promote the construction of a "dual circulation" development pattern.

For a long time, the "Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand" region has been a traditional popular route for Chinese outbound tourists. With the visa exemption policies of Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand providing convenience for outbound travel, the industry expects that the number of Chinese citizens traveling to the "Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand" region will further increase in 2024.

Data from Tuniu shows that since December last year, in-depth tours and multi-destination tour products for destinations like Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand have already reached a booking peak for the winter vacation and Spring Festival periods, with Singapore experiencing a particularly notable increase in booking popularity. Among Tuniu's popular outbound travel destinations for the winter vacation and Spring Festival, Singapore consistently ranks at the top in terms of booking popularity.

Beyond the benefits of visa exemptions, the recovery of tourism and the continuous restoration of flight volumes across the industry since 2024 have accelerated the recovery of international routes.

Statistics show that from January 1st to February 29th, 2024, the overall flight volume recovered to 104% of the same period in 2019, which is 131% of the same period in 2023; domestic flight volume recovered to 112% of the same period in 2019, which is 119% of the same period in 2023; international flight volume recovered to 68% of the same period in 2019, which is 664% of the same period in 2023; and regional flight volume recovered to 65% of the same period in 2019, which is 234% of the same period in 2023.

Zhongtai Securities noted that with the arrival of the traditional off-peak season in March, it is expected that airlines' operational data will slightly decline compared to February, but the strong performance during the Spring Festival has laid a solid foundation for airlines' first-quarter earnings. Although there may be short-term fluctuations in the aviation recovery, the long-term prospects remain bright.

As flight volumes continue to recover, passenger and flight volumes at listed airports have shown improvement month-on-month. As the fourth-largest airport in terms of passenger throughput in China, Shenzhen Airport achieved significant growth in 2023, with domestic passenger volume ranking second nationwide for the first time. Meanwhile, the opening of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Corridor will expand Shenzhen Airport's reach in the Guangdong region and strengthen its international hub status. The aviation business is expected to achieve profit recovery and enter an upward trajectory.

According to public reports, the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Corridor is making full efforts to advance the construction of electromechanical, traffic safety, and ancillary projects, with plans to meet traffic conditions by June. Once the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Corridor is opened, the overall convenience of transportation in the Pearl River Delta will be greatly enhanced, with Zhongshan and Shenzhen Airport achieving half-hour connectivity, and the travel time from Jiangmen to Shenzhen Airport being reduced to one hour.

In the latest institutional research, Shenzhen Airport stated that in the future, it will fully leverage its hub platform role and radiating function to support the interconnectivity and deep integration of industries in the Greater Bay Area, better serve the development of the west bank of the Pearl River and the public's travel needs, promote deepened exchanges and cooperation in various fields across both sides of the Pearl River, and achieve high-quality coordinated development.