China records 20.115m visa-free entries in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 112.3 percent

As China includes more countries in its visa waiver program and improves facilitation measures, the arrivals of foreign tourists have kept rising, said Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun on Tuesday. Citing national immigration data, Guo said that in 2024, the number of inbound and outbound travels by foreign nationals stood at 64.882 million, up by 82.9 percent year-on-year. Among them, 20.115 million entered China visa-free, up by 112.3 percent year-on-year.

During the just concluded New Year holiday, arrivals of foreign nationals grew by 34 percent year-on-year, he further noted.

With the Chinese New Year of the Snake half a month away, which is the first Spring Festival since the inscription of the festival on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list, we welcome foreign tourists to join China's celebration of the Spring Festival, experience the joy of the Chinese New Year, feel the warmth of Chinese hospitality, and usher in an auspicious Year of the Snake, Guo said.

The spokesperson's remarks were made in response to media questions about a recent document issued by the General Office of the State Council on fostering new growth points in culture and tourism consumption, including expanding the list of visa-free countries.

China saw a positive trend in inbound tourism, with "a significant increase in foreign visitor numbers in 2024," per the National Immigration Administration (NIA).

On Tuesday, Lü Ning, spokesperson for the NIA, reported that immigration authorities nationwide inspected a total of 610 million entries and exits, a 43.9 percent year-on-year rise. Among them, 64.88 million were foreign nationals, up 82.9 percent year-on-year.

According to the NIA spokesperson, throughout the year, 2.597 million visas were issued to foreign nationals, a 52.3 percent year-on-year increase.

China fully expanded and optimized its transit visa-free policy in 2024, with the number of people eligible for this policy increasing by 113.5 percent year-on-year. Notably, following the significant relaxation of the visa-free transit policy last December, the number of travelers benefiting from it rose by 29.5 percent month-on-month, according to the NIA.

Last year's growth in inbound tourism was primarily driven by the optimization of China's visa-free policy, which provided greater convenience for foreign visitors, Yang Jinsong, an expert with the China Tourism Academy, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Moreover, the continued recovery of the supply chain after the pandemic, including the resumption of direct flights and enhanced reception capacity of domestic tourism agencies, along with China's facilitation measures such as easier payment options, all contributed to the increase in inbound tourism, Yang said.

In December, China announced a significant relaxation of its visa-free transit policy, extending the permitted stay for eligible foreign travelers from the original 72 and 144 hours to 240 hours, or 10 days, with immediate effect.

Under the updated policy, eligible citizens from 54 countries can enter China visa-free when transiting to a third country or region.

With favorable inbound travel policies, several foreign nationals told the Global Times that they or their friends have recently visited China or are planning to do so soon.

Samantha Quinn, an Australian female who lives and works in Beijing, told the Global Times on Tuesday that her family has already taken advantage of China's visa-free policy for Australian citizens and made a rather spontaneous trip to Beijing.

"They (my family) actually just left yesterday. I can also see friends making plans for a visit, and some have already visited," Quinn said, noting that the visa-free policy is definitely opening more doors for those who have always wanted to visit but didn't want to go through the tedious visa process.

Osamu Onodera, chief representative for China and Northeast Asia of the Japan External Trade Organization, told the Global Times on Tuesday that he knew a Japanese family that was planning to travel to China because of the visa-free policy.

The visa-free policy has benefited people from Japan in many aspects including making it easier for family members to visit as well as businesspeople, who may be able to come more casually for business discussions, Onodera said.

Jyri Lintunen, vice chair of FinnCham South China, told the Global Times on Tuesday that he can see that there are more and more foreigners coming to China due to the visa-free policy. "I sincerely wish that this policy could become a more long-term one," he said.

With the market effects of the visa-free policy continuing to be unleashed, as well as the further implementation of measures such as easy payments for foreigners in China, inbound travel in 2025 is expected to maintain a positive growth trend, Hong Tao, director of the Institute of Business Economics at the Beijing Technology and Business University, told the Global Times, expressing optimism for this year's inbound tourism outlook.

The upcoming Spring Festival will be the first since China's successful heritage application, which is expected to attract foreign visitors to experience Chinese culture, further boosting inbound tourism, Hong said.