China’s visa-free entry boosts tourism but some hurdles remain
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The recent surge in tourism comes after China closed its borders in early 2020 to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
Follow topic:
BEIJING – Mr Guilherme Carvalho made his first visit to China this month, and the Italian said one of the main factors behind the trip is a post-pandemic policy to scrap entry permits for some tourists.
Previously, all foreign visitors had to go through the onerous process of applying for a Chinese visa. Now, visitors from more than a dozen countries can just fly in, and stay for up to 15 days.
“I didn’t expect to feel so safe,” said Mr Carvalho, who visited Shanghai. “Everyone is so kind.”
He is not alone. As the authorities focus on boosting foreign tourism in a bid to revive the economy and perk up sluggish consumer spending, thousands have flocked to China, encouraged by the visa policy and easier access to its unique digital payment services.
As of June 24, bookings from countries under the visa policy, including France, Germany, Italy, Malaysia and Thailand, had surged 150 per cent year-on-year, data from China’s largest online travel agency Trip.com showed.
Bookings for July and August are set to be higher.
“We’re very excited to see the trend. Lots of people had some misunderstandings about China before they came, but after they arrive, they feel cities like Shanghai are very safe, very clean,” said Trip.com chief executive Jane Sun.
Since December, China has granted visa-free entry to tourists from countries
South-east Asian countries including Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia have also struck agreements with Beijing to facilitate visa-free travel.
In the week that China announced visa-free travel for visitors from Australia and New Zealand,
“Coming out of Covid-19, visas are just another level of complexity for travellers. So to remove that complexity, I think is a good move,” she added.
Long-haul recovery
The recent surge in tourism comes after China closed its borders in early 2020 to combat the pandemic, and kept them shut until the start of 2023.
But even with the visa-free policy boost, far fewer tourists are visiting the country now than before the pandemic.
According to official tourism data, China received 49.1 million overseas visitors in 2019, with more than a third visiting for sightseeing and leisure. Revenue from international tourism reached US$131.3 billion (S$176.4 billion) that year.
In the first half of 2024, the number of foreign nationals entering China was far lower at 14.6 million. Among them, 8.5 million entered visa-free, accounting for just over half the total, according to the National Immigration Administration.
International tourism revenue data for China has not been published since 2019.
Travel agents say they are hopeful next year will see more foreign tourists as global demand for travel and flight schedules recover further to pre-pandemic levels.
However, China needs to do more than just waive visas, experts say.
Geopolitical tensions, a government that tolerates no dissent and China’s sometimes-belligerent portrayal in some Western media have kept some tourists away. Last month, two knife attacks on foreigners also sparked security concerns.
China must also compete for attention with Japan, which is experiencing a boom in tourism, thanks to its weak yen.
“The more that we talk around the reasons to go to China – the diverse landscapes, the history, the difference between imperial Beijing versus futuristic Shanghai – I think the faster that negative PR dissipates,” travel agent Thomson said.
Another potential hurdle for foreigners is China’s vast digital infrastructure.
Paying for everything from transport tickets to restaurant bookings to tourist site admissions is done via QR codes linked to local payment apps such as WeChat and Alipay, making daily interactions difficult for holders of foreign bank cards.
China has allowed foreign bank cards to be linked to Alipay and WeChat, but the system and language barriers remain daunting.
“I can’t imagine how a foreigner who doesn’t have Chinese payment tools and doesn’t speak the language can deal with all this,” said Ms Liang Hongling. The Chinese scholar, who lives in Glasgow, plans to travel with her Irish husband to her home town in Xinjiang in July. REUTERS
