The Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism has issued a warning to its citizens over travelling to Australia because of a ‘significant increase’ in racial discrimination and violence towards Chinese and Asian people associated with the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The Ministry of Culture and Tourism reminds Chinese tourists to enhance their safety awareness and do not travel to Australia,” the organisation said.

National Race Discrimination Commissioner Chin Tan said Covid-19-related discrimination against people of Asian backgrounds must be condemned. “Coronavirus has nothing to do with race or nationality – and neither fear of the virus, nor frustration at the difficulties we all face, are excuses for discrimination. People of all backgrounds are dealing with this crisis. No group can be singled out, and we must all work collectively to defeat it.”

ITIJ notes that this is certainly not the first instance of Covid-19 inciting unacceptable racial biases. Very recently, China’s African population living in the Guangdong Province were subjected to rising xenophobia and acts of racial discrimination by locals – facing forced evictions, arbitrary quarantines and mass testing – following reports of a Covid-19 breakout linked to a Nigerian community in the region, with several sources indicating that the measures specifically and unfairly targeted Africans.

In light of the recent protests taking place across the world in support of Black Lives Matter, it’s incredibly important to recognise that racism often crops up within the travel industry – whether it be bias and discrimination during a security check at an airport or upon arrival at a destination. Identifying and addressing these instances, as well as the many ways in which the industry fails to recognise and cater for the diverse needs of the travelling community, will be an important step in working towards creating a culture of travel that is inclusive of everyone.