Transit visa-free policy helps boost China tourism

Tourists take check-in photos in Chongqing, southwest China, July 8, 2024

Since China implemented the 144-hour transit visa-free policy, more and more foreigners have entered the country for tourism and business more conveniently.

According to data from the National Immigration Administration (NIA), in the first six months of this year, 14.63 million foreigners entered China through border gates nationwide, of which 4.36 million came to China for tourism purposes.

Since the start of the summer vacation, Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (Shaanxi Province) has been at its peak in receiving domestic and international passengers. In particular, on July 27, the number of passengers in one day at this airport reached a record high of 154,600 passengers.

To meet the travel needs of passengers, Xi'an Xianyang International Airport has restored and opened new flight routes to Osaka (Japan), Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)...

In addition, to ensure safe and quick travel for passengers, the airport has also implemented a series of measures such as strengthening flight route restoration and adding wide-body aircraft to routes with high passenger travel demand...

According to the latest statistics, as of July 31, more than 21,000 foreigners entered China through Xi'an border gates under the visa-free policy, a 33-fold increase over the same period last year, and the number of people transiting within 144 hours increased 2.4 times over the same period last year.

In Tianjin, according to the Donggang Border Control Station, Tianjin Border Control Station, along with the cruise ship “Dream” carrying about 2,200 passengers that just left Tianjin International Cruise Port on July 30, since the Tianjin Cruise Port resumed operations last year, the number of tourists entering and exiting through this port has exceeded 400,000; among them, more than 1,000 tourists completed the “24-hour transit visa exemption” and “144-hour transit visa exemption in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei”.

Meanwhile, in the capital Beijing, since the summer holidays, the number of foreign tourists to major tourist attractions in Beijing has increased significantly.

To facilitate travel for foreign tourists, Beijing plans to launch the international card “BEIJING PASS".

Currently, relevant departments in Beijing are conducting a trial run at many subway stations across the city. The card is expected to be sold to foreigners at seven major railway stations and subway stations at two airports in the city.

In addition, in recent times, services using foreign cards such as MasterCard to swipe through gates, buy one-way tickets, and buy additional tickets have also been gradually deployed.

Previously, on July 15, NIA announced that it would open three more border gates applying visa exemption policy for foreigners transiting within 144 hours (6 days), bringing the number of border gates in this category to 37.

Citizens from 54 countries including the US, Canada and the UK are eligible for a 144-hour visa-free policy for short-term activities in China such as tourism and business.

The expansion of the visa-free policy will provide more options for foreign citizens to travel and do business in China, according to the NIA.

According to the Chinese government, the 72-hour or 144-hour visa-free transit policy to a third country has played an important role in China's deep integration process, facilitating people-to-people exchanges and promoting cooperation with other countries.

China will continue to improve its policies towards being more liberal and open to foreign tourists.

TH (according to Vietnam+)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/chinh-sach-mien-thi-thuc-qua-canh-giup-thuc-day-du-lich-trung-quoc-389423.html