As the nation started its National Day “golden week” vacation, China outlined a strategy to strengthen the tourist sector and attract more foreign visitors by restoring visa-free rules and making travel and payments simpler. The proposal was posted on the State Council’s website on Friday night, although it was dated Wednesday.
It happened as almost 900 million people were anticipated to travel to mainland China for the National Day holiday on October 1. This year, the Mid-Autumn Festival coincides with the National Day holiday, resulting in a longer vacation and more time for travel.
The statement said that attempts to promote inbound travel will be among the essential steps to improve the tourist sector, which resumed in January following a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Officials expect that the Christmas travel surge will provide a temporary lift to China’s weak post-pandemic economy.
Other initiatives include encouraging local governments to combine tourism with cultural activities such as art performances, sporting events, and exhibits, as well as strengthening tourist resort management and initiating promotional campaigns to encourage vacation consumption.
The proposal also pledges to improve visa application processes, reinstate visa-free practices, exploit port visas (those sought for and issued at the border), and offer transit and regional entrance visa exemption.
It advocates for greater research and an increase in the number of visa-exempt nations, as well as extending international air travel by introducing new routes, particularly to tourist-heavy countries.
According to the proposal, additional steps include making it easy for international tourists to use their foreign bank cards and other digital payments, as well as streamlining the currency conversion procedure.
It advocates for multilingual signage in public places, as well as more efficient sightseeing, transport ticket buying, and hotel check-in procedures for visitors.
The study also advocates for improved tax-rebate services, such as broadening the scope of the tax refund program to include overseas passengers.
Following almost three years of economic isolation and closed borders, China has been attempting to entice overseas visitors to revitalize its ailing economy.
Despite the reopening of the border earlier this year, few international visitors have returned, owing to the cumbersome visa procedure, a paucity of aircraft, and perplexing digital payment methods built primarily for Chinese users.
According to statistics from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, South Korea, Russia, Japan, the United States, and Australia were among the top international tourist sources for China in 2019.
According to the Chinese foreign ministry, 18 nations have mutual visa exemptions with China for ordinary passport holders. The majority of them are in underdeveloped nations.
The rebound in China’s tourist industry has been gradual, with the number of overseas visitors decreasing by 70% in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, according to Chinese immigration statistics.
