Airbnb pulls out of China as country remains closed to tourists

Airbnb has announced it will stop representing short-term rental properties in China as the country remains closed to tourists.

The company said it will focus its business in China on serving people looking for accommodation abroad.

Airbnb joins a series of foreign internet companies including Yahoo and eBay that have pulled out of China after running into fierce local competition and regulatory barriers.

“We have made the difficult decision to refocus our efforts in China on outbound travel and suspend our homes and experiences of hosts in China, starting from July 30 2022,” said the chief strategy officer of Airbnb China, Nathan Blecharczyk.

Landlords represented by Airbnb have had more than 25 million guest arrivals since 2016, according to Mr Blecharczyk’s statement.

The Chinese government has blocked foreign tourists from visiting since the pandemic hit in early 2020 and has told the Chinese public to avoid foreign travel that is not essential for business or study.