Lawmakers and political advisors discuss 'China Travel,' focusing on attracting repeat tourists

Several National People's Congress (NPC) deputies and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee members told the Global Times on Thursday that they had proposed further enhancing the China Travel experience for foreign visitors, emphasizing not only attracting first-time visitors but also turning them into repeat tourists.

The number of inbound trips made by foreigners to China under the country's visa-free policies in 2024 doubled compared with the previous year, the Xinhua News Agency reported in January.

Border inspection agencies across China handled 64.88 million cross-border trips by foreigners in 2024, up 82.9 percent from a year earlier. Among them, more than 20 million inbound trips by foreigners were made visa-free, a year-on-year increase of 112.3 percent, according to statistics released by the National Immigration Administration (NIA) in January.

"Over the past year, an increasing number of tourists from countries participating in the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative have chosen China as their destination to experience the country's modernization progress," Dai Bin, a CPPCC member and president of the China Tourism Academy, told the Global Times.

Wang Yu, a member of the CPPCC National Committee and chairman of Spring Airlines, told the Global Times that China has decided in 2024 to extend the unilateral visa-free policy to more countries, which involves visa-free treatment to travelers holding ordinary passport from 38 countries, including South Korea. After that, ticket sales for China-South Korea routes in December 2024 increased by more than 60 percent compared to the average level from January to October. On flights from Shanghai Pudong to Busan, South Korean passengers alone accounted for as much as 80 percent of passengers.

Regarding the design of measures to attract international tourists to repeat their China travel, Dai emphasized that strengthening cooperation with international organizations such as the United Nations World Tourism Organization and the World Travel & Tourism Council, along with developing world-class tourism cities and travel routes, is crucial to enhancing foreigners' willingness to visit China.

"I suggest that the relevant departments further improve services for foreign tourists, such as mobile payments, online flight booking, multilingual signage translation, and restroom accessibility," Wang said, noting that details are important in solving certain problems that may cause discomfort for foreign tourists.

While foreigners are attracted by China's unique sceneries, various activities, and Chinese cuisine, Wang also found that some tourists provided feedback on some individual negative issues such as taxi overcharging, smoking in public places, and substandard hygiene in restaurants.

To address those problems, he suggested further strengthening the management of the tourism market, including carrying out special rectifications on issues that have recently been prominently reported by tourists, such as taxi overcharging and food hygiene.

Additionally, some other members of the CPPCC National Committee stated that foreign tourists' spending in China is steadily increasing, with a gradual rise in tax refund amounts. However, the current coverage of tax refund points is limited, with tourists facing long queues and a cumbersome process. They suggested optimizing the "instant refund" policy and streamlining the online tax refund process to enhance tourist spending convenience, according to China News Service.

Dai pointed out that Chinese culture and the experience of a beautiful life have become the core attractions for inbound tourism. More and more people are eager to engage in local life - for example, making ceramics together with young people who work in Jingdezhen.

In December 2024, Jingdezhen, dubbed the "porcelain capital" of China in East China's Jiangxi Province, was included in the 240-hour visa-free transit stay area for foreigners.

With the boost from the visa-free policy, many international students are taking advantage of the holidays to bring their family and friends to Jingdezhen for travel, making it possible to offer targeted short-term ceramic experience courses, Zhang Jingjing, an NPC deputy and dean of the International School at Jingdezhen Ceramic University, told the Global Times.

"Jingdezhen will also introduce 15 detailed measures this year to promote inbound tourism, improving services such as multilingual guidance, dedicated airport transportation, and convenient payment options," Zhang added.