Chinese citizens are once again allowed to travel internationally and the global tourism industry is ready to welcome them with open arms. Why? Chinese tourism has meant big money in the past. In 2019, Chinese travelers spent a fifth of all tourist dollars.

We hear from the managing director of Bridestowe, a lavender farm on the island of Tasmania in Australia. He says Chinese tourists made up a big chunk of their visitors pre-pandemic and hopes they'll return. (Its popularity as a tourist destination took off after a Chinese model posted a photo of herself with a Bridestowe lavender bear on social media.)

But there are already some early signs a full rebound in Chinese tourism might be a ways off.

Music by Drop Electric. Find us: Twitter / Facebook / Newsletter.

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PocketCasts and NPR One.

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

The audio engineer for this episode was Katherine Silva.