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According to a December 8th announcement from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and numerous Chinese embassies, China will reduce visa fees by 25% for tourists from countries such as Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, and the Philippines from December 11th, 2023 to December 31st, 2024.
To date, this policy has helped millions of tourists from dozens of countries save money when applying for tourist visas to China.
According to Reuters, this is the latest in a series of measures recently taken by the Chinese government to boost domestic tourism, attract foreign visitors and businesspeople, amid the country's slow economic recovery.
Earlier, on December 5th, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the visa-free travel policy had proven effective, making it easier for tourists to visit China.
"In the future, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to adjust visa policies to create more favorable and easier conditions for cross-border travel," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin at a press briefing.
China's visa-free travel policy applies to tourists from many European countries and Malaysia.
This policy took effect on December 1st. The Chinese Foreign Ministry cited figures indicating that approximately 7,000 out of 18,000 tourists from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Malaysia – countries on the visa-exempt list – entered China during the first three days of December.
Mr. Wang also reported that the average daily number of tourists arriving in China from these countries increased by 39% in the first three days of December compared to the last day of November.
