According to a December 8 announcement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry and many Chinese embassies in various countries, China will cut 25% of visa fees for tourists from countries such as Thailand, Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines from December 11, 2023 to December 31, 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 implemented by the Chinese government to promote domestic tourism, exploit foreign visitors and businessmen, in the context of the country's slow economic recovery.
Previously, on December 5, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the visa-free tourism policy has proven effective, making it easier for tourists to come to 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," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a press conference.
China's visa-free travel policy applies to visitors from many European countries and Malaysia.
The policy took effect on December 1, with China's Foreign Ministry citing figures showing that about 7,000 out of 18,000 tourists from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Malaysia - countries on the visa-free list - entered China in the first three days of December.
Mr. Uong also informed that the average daily number of tourists coming to China from these countries increased by 39% in the first three days of December compared with the last day of November.
