Tourists pose for a group photo in front of the duty-free shop at Terminal 4 of Hangzhou International Airport on Feb 7. [Photo/hangzhou.com.cn]

The newly-renovated duty-free shop at Terminal 4 of Hangzhou International Airport in Xiaoshan district welcomed the first group of 20 tourists on Feb 7, who were about to visit Europe on a group tour.

It was the first outbound tour group in three years, ever since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in early 2020.

The duty-free shop is located on the international departure floor of T4 and covers an area of about 2,500 square meters. More than 300 renowned global brands and more than 7,000 items are sold in the store.

With the recovery of the outbound package tour market, the duty-free shop has set up a reception desk for group tours and a special service hotline for tour leaders so as to continuously improve the shopping experience of tourists.

Outbound group passengers are resuming their role as an important part of passenger flow at the airport.

A day later, on Feb 8, the airport received another outbound tour group who took Flight SJ3185 to Jakarta and then transferred to Bali for an eight-day tour.

International flights to Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea have been put back into service at the airport.

Tourists participate in a package tour to Bali on Feb 8. [Photo/hangzhou.com.cn]