(Yicai Global) Nov. 26 -- Shanghai has suspended group tourism between the eastern Chinese city and other provincial-level regions after yesterday reporting three domestically transmitted cases of Covid-19.

Tour groups and ‘air ticket + hotel’ booking options will resume once the city’s medium-risk areas return to low-risk status, the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism said in a notice yesterday.

Tour operators and online travel agencies including Trip.Com Group, Tongcheng Tourism Network Technology, Qunar, Spring Tour, Fliggy, and Tuniu are making changes accordingly, they told Yicai Global.

Spring Tour has halted cross-provincial tourism as required, Deputy Manager Zhou Weihong said, adding that the Shanghai-based firm will either reschedule tours or refund tourists who have booked group trips. Airline companies should also change the tickets without any additional costs or provide a full refund for coronavirus reasons, he noted.

The New Year holidays are on the horizon and this latest outbreak’s impact will depend on the progress of pandemic control, people working in the sector told Yicai Global. Keeping a lid on the coronavirus is top priority, so tourism should only gradually resume under the premise of safety first, they added.

The three confirmed Covid-19 cases, who were all fully vaccinated, had traveled together to Suzhou in neighboring Jiangsu province between Nov. 19 and 21. Two housing complexes in Shanghai’s Pudong New Area and one in Qingpu district were immediately closed and designated as medium-risk areas.

All 182 close contacts and 54,760 related people have tested negative, Shanghai health authorities said today.

Editor: Futura Costaglione