Define "nicely".
If they are only getting ~U$400 for a PEK-MEL R/T, I'd say they are not doing that 'nicely'.

Demand is a big issue, IMO (for everything other than US-CHINA).

Doesn't the chinese gouvernement prop up the major Chinese airlines anyway when things go bad, like most countries ?

The figures are retrospective. They're looking at the first six months of 2023. Until 8/Feb, China still had mandatory quarantine for inbound passengers. International flights didn't really ramp back up until late Q2.

I believe it was January 8th that the jailing of inbound passengers stopped. Nonetheless you’re right in that flights didn’t really ramp up until March/April.

Super anecdotal evidence: I see a bunch of my non-Chinese friends (20-30s) visiting Taiwan in the past few months. About the same number also visit HK. None of them visit China.
My friends who visit China are all Chinese.

Well, for starters, the visa requirement for many nationalities turns off a lot of people who do casual tourism. The HK and Taiwan region don't require visas for many western countries' citizens.

Well I know that. But this same set of people wasn't going to Taiwan pre covid (some were going to HK) and at least some of them were going to China (yes, they got visas).

The free 3 year visa extension is not well known and maybe people's visas have expired and they don't care to renew

Well said, though I'd say the positioning got a healthy boost from negative bias on pro-Western media.

It's interesting that people are rushing back to Japan despite its anti-foreigner sentiment during COVID.

Even before Covid, I always thought China, unlike all other countries I've been to, was an alternate universe. All the major Western tech platforms don't work (Google, gmail, FB, Youtube, Google Maps, Uber, etc), and the massive crowds of domestic tourists suggest little need for foreign tourists. It just intensified recently.

On one hand, self-sufficient domestic tourism is a pride very few major countries can enjoy. This is just part of the mosaic of self-reliance China has been working towards.

On the other hand, it makes it highly unattractive to foreigners.

You're right. The quarantine was removed in Jan. What was reopened in Feb was the land crossings between China and Hong Kong.

Honestly the alternate universe is what is interesting about going to China... maybe I like the strange things like moondog's picture above...

I know what you mean. It's fascinating for sure. But unlike say Japan, this alternate universe isn't particularly welcoming to foreigners, hence the lack of visit.

Japan is only welcoming in a superficial manner...sort of like Minnesota.

What makes you say this? Struggling to see similarities between MN and Japan....

Japan at least has tourism promotion and ad campaigns. In either May or June landing at NRT there was an Intenational Milk Day and Hokkaido promotion booth as you left Customs. And I got free milk! Can anyone remember the last time they saw an ad campaign for overseas tourists to go to China?

I think for many countries international travel is not just for the economic benefits but also represents connection to the rest of the world, being integrated into the world fabric. That's just not where "Beijing" is at the moment.

I now regret responding to one generalization with another, but the idea has to do with expressed hospitality not necessarily representing underlying feelings.