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In addition to focusing on attracting domestic tourists, China has implemented many attractive policies to increase the number of international visitors, such as optimizing immigration policies, improving tourism services, and diversifying payment methods.
In recent years, China has implemented numerous policies aimed at attracting international tourists to the country.
Starting this week, China officially expanded its visa-free policy for foreigners transiting through three new border crossings: Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport in Henan Province, Lijiang Sanyi International Airport in Yunnan Province, and Mohan Railway Port in Yunnan Province.
With the addition of these three border crossings, the total number of border crossings applying the 144-hour (6-day) visa-free policy in China has increased to 37. This policy allows citizens of 54 countries, including Vietnam, to stay in China for up to 6 days without a visa for tourism, business, visiting relatives, or transit purposes.
This is a positive move by China to attract international tourists and boost the tourism industry. Visa exemption will help reduce administrative procedures for tourists, saving them time and money, and making it easier for them to explore multiple destinations in a single trip.
The Chinese government is expected to continue implementing even more liberal and open policies to attract international tourists to the country.
Besides expanding its visa policy, China is also striving to upgrade its entire tourism industry. Payment services at major cultural and tourist sites across the country have been optimized. Tourists can pay using various methods such as cash, domestic and international bank cards, and popular e-wallets like Alipay, WeChat Pay, and UnionPay. Major tourist destinations are equipped with POS machines that support payments with Visa, Mastercard, JCB, and American Express cards. Mobile payment applications like Alipay and WeChat Pay are widely used in China, allowing tourists to pay quickly and conveniently without carrying cash or cards.
Tourist destinations that frequently welcome international visitors all have currency exchange counters to make it easy for tourists to exchange money. Payment instructions in multiple languages are posted at ticket counters, restaurants, and hotels for easy reference and use by tourists.
Policies such as expanding visa-free entry and transit, and facilitating payments and travel, have significantly contributed to attracting foreign tourists to China. According to the National Immigration Administration of China, in the first six months of 2024, more than 14.6 million foreigners entered the country, an increase of over 150% compared to the same period. Of these, 58% entered under visa-free schemes, nearly double the number in the same period of 2023.
