According to official border control statistics, the number of foreign tourists visiting China has more than doubled year-on-year. This impressive increase is due to the implementation of a series of visa waiver programs to attract international tourists. However, this increase is still not enough to match China’s pre-COVID baseline of 15.53 million foreign tourists in the first half of 2019.
According to records from the General Administration of Immigration in Beijing, the number of foreign arrivals registered in Beijing in the first two quarters of 2024 was 1.02 million, a remarkable figure that increased by 257% compared to the same period in 2023. Meanwhile, data from the State Immigration Administration showed that 14.64 million foreigners visited China in the first half of this year, up 152.7% year-on-year.
Visa waiver success
Nationals of over 40 countries now benefit from simplified visa applications when planning trips to China, and 20 countries have reciprocal exemption agreements with the People’s Republic of China allowing visa-free travel for a certain number of days for business, family visits, tourism, or transit. China has also expanded transit periods and relaxed entry for cruise ship arrivals.
Among the many countries that have relaxed or are renegotiating reciprocal travel agreements are Thailand and Singapore, which now benefit from permanent exemptions, while of the 12 countries that gained temporary visa-free status, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland have had their 15-day visa-free entry period extended until the end of 2025.
Early figures for December 2023 seem to indicate that this strategy has been successful in transforming China from a world-renowned tourist supplier to a fast-growing tourism destination, with 118,000 visitors from the newly visa-free countries arriving in China in December alone. Official data now confirms that the opening-up policy has led to a staggering 190% increase in visa-free entries into China by foreigners year-on-year, reaching 8.5 million by mid-year. These figures account for 58% of total inbound travellers to China.
Will there be more exemptions in the future?
In addition to more than 159,000 foreigners from 12 visa-exempt countries entering Beijing in the first half of this year, 33,700 people from 54 countries took advantage of China’s 144-hour visa-free transit policy, a seven-fold increase compared to 2023.
While tourism to China is yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels, the Republic’s ongoing efforts to unlock the potential of its tourism industry are likely to see further visa exemptions implemented.
