Inbound Tourism of China Heats Up in Summer Travel Surge

With the onsetting summer, the tourism scene in China is having a remarkable surge. Elena, a Russian tourist, reflects vividly this trend. She and her boyfriend, who had been meticulously planning their trip three months previously, just recently explored the Forbidden City in Beijing. "Absolutely worthwhile" was the experience, Elena described, saying that the unique culture and architecture made their journey through China unforgettable. This will be their first visit to the Chinese mainland, and they are already eyeing trips to Shanghai and Xi'an within two weeks.

A Global Sensation

Interest in "China Travel," however, has reached across the globe, particularly on social media. Here, influencers showcase foreigners who taste Chinese night market delicacies, dance with locals, ride in self-driving taxis, take high-speed trains, and even get food deliveries via drones.

Spike of Inbound Visitors

Figures from the National Immigration Administration show that the country received about 14.64 million foreign entries in the first half of 2024, a year-on-year increase of 152.7 percent. More than 8.54 million of the entries enjoyed visa-free treatment under China's visa-free policies, which have been expanded to cover tourists from more countries. Under the 72/144-hour visa-free transit policies, now covering 54 countries, it becomes more convenient for visitors.

Enhanced Tourist Policies

On his part, the Chinese Ambassador to the US, Xie Feng, reaffirmed the commitment of the country to enriching people-to-people exchange and optimizing the experience of foreign tourists arriving in China. Recent policy measures have been put in place to make life easier for overseas visitors. The CCP Central Committee resolved to facilitate procedures for foreign residents, including access to medical services and convenient payment systems.

To this end, the People's Bank of China has called on key mobile payment operators, including Alipay and Tenpay, to adjust their systems in a manner that facilitates the binding of credit cards and authenticating personal identity without leaking data on users. The limit on mobile payment transactions is now $5,000 per transaction and $50,000 annually.

Accommodation and Domestic Tourism Improvement

Also, the Ministry of Commerce, in coordination with six other government departments, issued circulars on facilitating accommodation to foreign tourists. These include allowing the elimination of restrictions of hotels' acceptance of foreign guests and registration service readjustments.

This summer has also seen domestic tourism rise. The surge in family tours, educational travel, summer camps, and graduation tours are all fueling more travel across China. Meanwhile, though the weather was scorching, its attractions remained swamped with educational tour groups. Li Min, from Shandong Province, brought her children to Beijing, hoping to use this summer vacation to fill in the gaps in their education.

Based on Qian Lan, a tourism veteran from Jiangxi Province, there has been tremendous support in this travel season, with 40% long-distance travel orders year over year. This reflects the exploring in-depth trend rather than plain sightseeing.

In July, the number of passenger trips made on China's railways reached 423 million, a growth of 4 percent from the same period last year, said China State Railway Group Co Ltd. Various regions roll out incentives to attract more visitors by offering vouchers, discounts on tickets, and rebates on expenditure.

Another new development is that a cableway is included at Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village, which is a famous ethnic tourist destination in Guizhou Province. The new service, coupled with facelifts for the tea culture street and participation of traditional dances, aims at enriching the visitor experience and bringing out the rich cultural heritage of the Miao people.

While China is fast gaining prominence as a global destination, starting to charm both international and domestic tourists through its dynamic culture, innovative policies, and upgraded travel infrastructure, the summer of 2024 saw a sea change in this appeal.