Travel agencies are stepping up preparations for tourism products after China announced visa-free treatment for nine more countries

A tourist from Pakistan takes a selfie at Hongyadong Scenic Area in Yuzhong District, southwest China’s Chongqing, July 8, 2024. Chongqing handled more than 150,000 incoming and outgoing foreign passengers in the first half of this year, 4.9 times as much as in the same period last year. With an optimized visa policy, Chongqing continues to improve itinerary management for incoming tour groups, providing foreign travelers with more flexible choices regarding ports of entry and exit. (Photo: Xinhua)

Travel agencies at home and abroad are stepping up preparations for tourism products to China after the country announced on Friday that it had decided to grant visa-free treatment to nine more countries, including Slovakia, Norway and South Korea, on a trial basis.

Industry participants noted that this move is a strong demonstration of China’s commitment to continuously expand opening-up, which will further boost inbound tourism and related sectors, including the hospitality industry, and promote more cultural exchanges between China and the world .

To further facilitate cross-border travel, China has decided to extend visa-free treatment to more countries by expanding the policy on a trial basis to regular passport holders from Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein and South Korea. This was reported by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

From November 8, 2024 to December 31, 2025, ordinary passport holders from these countries may be exempted from visa requirements to enter China and stay for no more than 15 days for business, tourism, family visits and transit.

“The visa-free policy has an obvious effect on boosting inbound tourism. We have started to design and enrich our existing products and are ready to welcome visitors from the above-mentioned countries,” said Chen Kai, manager of Beijing Botrip Tour Holiday Co, which specializes in inbound tourism.

Chen told the Global Times on Sunday that the number of inbound tourists the company has received has maintained a high growth rate since March, much higher than before the pandemic.

The visa-free policy for nine more countries will further boost travel to China, Chen said. “Especially European tourists, who are often in transit, will be more interested in traveling within China, stimulated by the policy,” Chen said.

“Following the announcement, we have strengthened cooperation and communication with local travel agencies in visa-free countries, in an effort to provide support for services both domestically and internationally,” Xu Xiaolei, a marketing manager of CYTS Tours Holding Co, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Xu noted that the company will design better travel products for foreign tourists, helping them understand the diverse and rich Chinese culture and tourism resources. For example, in addition to popular travel cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, the company will supply products for a number of niche leisure travel destinations.

In addition, Yonhap News Agency, a South Korean media outlet, reported on Sunday that the South Korean tourism industry is full of expectations of a growth in demand for travel to China.

A South Korean travel agency, Hana Tour, said in an interview with Yonhap that the visa-free policy has reduced the cost and time required to obtain a visa for travel to China, and the company anticipated a revival of the travel boom to China.

Tourism industry participants believe that, driven by this policy, there will be an increased demand for travel to China among people between the ages of 20 and 40, who previously did not pay much attention to traveling to China. As a result, several travel agencies are expanding their China travel products to meet the diverse travel needs of all age groups, the report said.

Chen believed that with the arrival of more foreign tourists, China’s tourism industry will further recover and grow, and related industries such as catering, accommodation and transportation will also gain momentum.

“The extension of the visa-free policy has been warmly welcomed by many countries and tourists, demonstrating China’s continued commitment to continuously expanding its opening-up to the world,” said Xu, noting that the move will further promote cultural exchanges. something that the tourism market entities would like to see.

According to the National Immigration Administration, the number of foreigners entering China through various ports reached 8.186 million in the third quarter of this year, a year-on-year increase of 48.8 percent. A total of 4.885 million people entered under the visa-free policy, representing a year-on-year gain of 78.6 percent.