"It's not a question of if it will happen, it's now just a matter of how many and how fast." As the Lunar New Year holiday - typically a peak travel period for Chinese tourists - starts on Jan. 21, some businesses are already gearing up. Japan, however, is being cautious about Chinese tourism due to the rapid spread of the virus in China. Australia, Germany, Thailand and others, however, said they would not impose additional rules on Chinese travel for now, with France taking to social media platform Sina Weibo to emphasise it welcomed Chinese friends "with open arms". "I suspect any meaningful rebound will have to wait until the travel boom in June or July next year."

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