China has seen large increases in foreign tourism arrivals at its airports serving its biggest cities so far this year, largely fueled by its growing list of countries granted visa-free access.
According to government data, Shanghai’s Pudong and Hongqiao airports have seen a total of 2.6 million foreign arrivals in the first half of this year, representing a 44% increase year over year. Beijing has also seen a substantial increase, with nearly 1.5 million arrivals from foreign nations.
Currently, China allows visa-free transit access to citizens of 75 total countries, spanning from Japan to the United States to much of Europe. Citizens of eligible countries are permitted a stay period of 10 days. Depending on the country, China allows some citizens a full visa-free stay period of up to 30 days.
The expansion of China’s visa-free policy began in 2023, as the nation looked to increase the number of foreign visitors following years of strict travel restrictions related to COVID-19.
According to the National Immigration Administration (NIA), 13.6 million foreign visitors entered China utilizing the visa-free policy in the first half of this year, representing a 54% increase year over year. Specifically in Beijing, approximately 840,000 entered China on the visa-free policy in the first half of this year, doubling last year’s figure.
This partly highlights Beijing’s wishes for a broader range of spending and a boost for the nation’s winding consumption. “While direct stimulus for durable goods reveals its constraints, the tourism sector emerges as a promising catalyst to invigorate consumption,” said Bloomberg analysts Catherine Lim, Chang Shu, and Eric Zhu in a report Thursday. “Structural shifts in consumer behavior offer a more reliable tailwind.”
However, a tourism boost into China comes with its challenges, particularly involving negative geopolitical images from Western nations and the lack of soft power to a certain extent compared to the likes of Japan and South Korea. This perhaps is somewhat offset by China’s focus on neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, which Beijing has looked to deepen ties with over time.
Featured image by the Park Hyatt Shanghai.
