How China’s Approved Destination Status Policy Spurs and Hinders Chinese Travel Abroad

Sumner La Croix, James Mak, Economy, Working Papers

China’s “Approved Destination Status (ADS) policy allows citizens of mainland China to take pleasure trips abroad on group package tours to countries that have negotiated and implemented agreements with China. In this paper, we examine the reasons for this unique preferential and incremental travel liberalization system and how it affects mainland Chinese outbound pleasure travel.