China’s plan to boost tourism promises easier visas, payment methods and travel bookings for foreigners

As country kicks off ‘golden week’ holiday, Beijing unveils scheme to lure international travellers in bid to reinvigorate sluggish economy
Wide-ranging plan calls for visa-free policies, more air routes, and convenient ways to pay using foreign bank cards and digital platforms

Golden week

Sylvie Zhuangin Beijing

Published: 3:34pm, 30 Sep 2023

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China unveiled a plan to boost the tourism industry and attract more foreign visitors by resuming visa-free policies and making travel and payments easier as the country began its National Day “golden week” holiday.

The plan was published on the website of the State Council, China’s cabinet, on Friday night but was dated Wednesday.

It came as travellers are expected to make nearly 900 million trips in mainland China during the public holiday marking National Day on October 1. This year the Mid-Autumn Festival overlaps with the National Day break, making it a longer holiday than usual and giving people more time to travel.

The document said efforts to strengthen inbound travel would be among the key measures to boost the tourism industry, which reopened in January after being halted for three years because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Officials hope the holiday travel boom will give a short-term boost to China’s sluggish post-pandemic economy.

Other measures include encouraging local governments to integrate tourism with cultural events such as art performances, sports events and exhibitions, as well as improving management of tourist resorts and launching promotions to boost holiday consumption.

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The plan also promises to make visa application processing more efficient, restore visa-free policies, leverage port visas – those applied for and granted at the border – and to allow exemptions for transit and regional entry visas.

It calls for more research and an increase in the number of visa-exempt countries, as well as expanding international air travel by adding more routes, especially to countries that are primary sources of tourists.

Other initiatives include making it easier for foreign visitors to use their foreign bank cards and other digital payments and simplifying the currency exchange process, according to the plan.

It calls for public spaces to post signs in multiple languages and for more convenient sightseeing and transit ticket booking and hotel check-in processes for foreigners.

The document also urges enhanced tax-rebate services, such as expanding the scope of the tax refund policy for international travellers.

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China has been trying to lure international travellers to reinvigorate its sluggish economy following nearly three years of pandemic isolation and sealed borders.

Despite the border reopening earlier this year, few foreign travellers have returned, and the complicated visa process, lack of flights and puzzling digital payment systems mostly designed for Chinese users have posed significant hurdles.

South Korea, Russia, Japan, the United States and Australia were among the biggest sources of foreign tourists for China in 2019, according to data from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

There are 18 countries that have mutual visa exemptions with China for ordinary passport holders, according to the Chinese foreign ministry. Most of them are developing countries.

The recovery in China’s tourism sector has been slow, with the number of international travellers dropping 70 per cent in the first half of this year compared with 2019 levels, according to Chinese immigration data.