Chinese tourism to Australia still in the doldrums after pandemic travel bans

Balloons from Melbourne company Global Ballooning take to the early morning skies – the company says Chinese tourist numbers are still down by about half compared to this time last year. Photograph: Matt Blyth/Getty Images

In the two weeks either side of lunar new year, Mandy Ho, who manages a hot air balloon company in Melbourne, has many balls in the air.

Most mornings before dawn, when weather permits, her colleagues fly Chinese tourists from the vineyards of the Yarra Valley over Melbourne’s eastern suburbs to parkland on the city’s fringe. Interpreters make sure nothing is lost in translation.