China reports 4 times more cross-border trips by foreigners, but total still below pre-pandemic levels
- More than 13 million foreigners enter or exit mainland China in first quarter as Beijing introduces visa-free policies for parts of Europe and Asia
- Immigration agency issues 6.35 million passports to mainland Chinese after Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia announce visa exemptions
Around 1.98 million foreigners travelled to China without a visa in the first quarter, a 266 per cent year-on-year increase.
China reports more trips by foreign travellers as visa-free policies take effect
Despite the strong rise in cross-border trips, the data still fell short compared to the first quarter of 2019.
Foreign travellers made around 40 per cent fewer cross-border trips compared to the same period in 2019, when they made roughly 22½ million trips into or out of mainland China.
Meanwhile, the NIA issued nearly 466,000 visas for foreigners in the first quarter of this year, up 118.8 per cent year on year.
The total number of trips by all travellers more than doubled compared to the first quarter of last year.
Residents of mainland China made nearly 70 million entries and exits, more than double the 32.35 million made at the same time last year but down on the nearly 90 million made in 2019.
Cross-border trips in and out of mainland China by Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan residents also more than doubled to nearly 60 million.
The immigration agency issued 6.35 million passports to mainland Chinese citizens in the first quarter, up 24 per cent year on year. It also issued nearly 25 million exit-entry permits to mainland China residents for travel to Hong Kong and Macau, up 30 per cent over the same period last year.
13:33
Tourism trouble: post-pandemic hurdles of China travel
The increase in the number of passports issued came after the announcement of new visa-free policies for mainland Chinese travellers to Southeast Asian hotspots such as Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.
The country’s post-pandemic travel rebound also comes on the heels of a recovery in the aviation sector, with the number of international flights to and from mainland China increasing 158.6 per cent year on year in the first quarter.
Earlier this year, the Civil Aviation Administration of China confirmed that flights between China and countries including Australia, Britain, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and New Zealand had rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.
China and the US also saw direct flights increase to 100 per week last month, up from 24 per week in May 2023, but still only one-third of the pre-pandemic level.
