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Opinion
China’s tourism policy must now go beyond visa-free travel
- China must make it easier for foreigners to experience the country and citizens to travel abroad if it wants to reconnect with the world
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Ningrong Liu is a professor in globalisation and business at the City University of Hong Kong.
“City or not city?”, the humorous meme coined by an American vlogger in China to ask whether a place is fashionable or has the flair of a major city, encapsulates the allure of China’s dynamic and evolving cities – and also its picturesque countryside.
Beyond the charm of China’s cities and beauty of its rural scenery lies a deeper sense of excitement and development that is palpable in its culture, economy and society. This phenomenon has captured the world’s attention, providing the emotional underpinnings for the recent surge in foreign tourists.
China’s successful tourism campaign has been supported by policy decisions, including reinstating the 144-hour free transit visa – which covers 54 countries and was recently expanded to 37 entry points – and offering visa-free travel to several countries.
The statistics speak for themselves. In the first half of this year, 14.64 million foreigners visited China, up by 152.7 per cent year on year. Visa-free entries exceeded 8.5 million, accounting for more than half of inbound trips and are a staggering 190 per cent rise year on year.
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