NEARLY 33,000 passengers flew between Manchester and Beijing from July to December 2023, according to Manchester Airport's figures. 

This represents a 104 per cent increase compared to the first half of the year. The reason for this jump is that Hainan Airlines brought back its flights to the Chinese capital in late 2022 after the pandemic, and numbers have steadily increased over the first year of the route's resumption. 

The figure could rise further this year, with Hainan Airlines increasing the number of flights in June from four times per week to daily. 

Manchester Airport says that export values from Manchester Airport to China grew 41 per cent and enquiries about investment in the area from China doubled in the two years after the route first launched. The north-west's universities also saw a boost of nearly 10 per cent in the number of Chinese students enrolling, it is claimed.

Jennifer Cormack, from Windermere Lake Cruises, talked about the return of the Hainan Airlines link between Beijing and Manchester in August 2022. 

She said: "In 2019, Windermere Lake Cruises welcomed record numbers of tourists from China with a report showing how visitor numbers from the country had increased by a massive 286 per cent since June 2016. We are working hard to drive our appeal to overseas markets and we are confident the resumption of direct flights will help.”

Sue Clarke, marketing manager at Cumbria Tourism, also spoke about this topic at the time. 

"We’re thrilled to welcome back such a key travel route to the region. Pre pandemic international tourism made up over 10 per cent of the overall visitor economy in Cumbria but for some businesses this could be up to 25 per cent and China was one of our biggest markets," she said. 

“The Lake District, Cumbria had become an established destination choice for the Chinese market who absolutely loves the history and culture the area has to offer."