Taipei, Taiwan – China has recently announced a significant increase in the number of foreigners entering the country in the first half of 2024. According to Chinese government statistics, there has been a 150% leap in the number of foreign visitors, a remarkable achievement for the world’s second-largest economy as it continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
This surge in foreign visitors has been attributed to China’s expanded visa-free policy, which has been hailed as a major contributing factor. However, a closer look at the numbers reveals that the current figures are still only a third of what they were in 2019, before the pandemic hit.
In the first six months of this year, 287 million people entered and left China, out of which 29.2 million were foreigners. Only 8.5 million of these foreign visitors used the visa-free entry option. In comparison, in 2019, nearly 98 million foreign visitors entered and left China.
When asked about this increase at a recent press conference, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian expressed his delight at the growing popularity of travel to China. He also highlighted the benefits of the expanded visa-free travel policy, which has been extended to a dozen European countries since late last year.
Lin stated, “As more and more countries benefit from the visa-free policy and as China adopts more measures to ease cross-border travel, ‘on-a-whim travel’ to China is becoming a reality.” He also expressed confidence that the number of foreign visitors to China will continue to rise in the second half of the year.
However, tourism experts and observers believe that there are still several obstacles for foreign tourists hoping to visit China. The country’s political atmosphere, post-pandemic safety concerns, and the high cost of long-distance travel are some of the factors that may deter foreign visitors.
A German man, who has been living in Shanghai for many years and preferred to remain anonymous, stated that China’s international image has taken a hit since the COVID-19 pandemic. He believes that even with the visa-free policy in place, European travelers may not be enthusiastic enough to visit China.
Tang, a Taiwanese tourism scholar who frequently travels to China, also believes that the government’s statistics may be misleading as they do not distinguish between tourism and business travel. He pointed out that a significant portion of the visitors from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan are business travelers who would come to China regardless of the visa-free policy.
Tang also highlighted the high air ticket prices as a major hindrance to the recovery of long-distance tourism. The shortage of pilots, failure to reinstate popular routes, and an imbalance between supply and demand have led to a significant increase in air ticket prices.
In an effort to boost tourism, China has expanded the 15-day visa-free entry to travelers from New Zealand and Australia, starting from July 1st. The country also has a 144-hour transit visa-free policy for 54 countries. However, Tang believes that these policies are unlikely to have a significant impact, especially for travelers from the United States and Europe.
He stated, “To Europeans and Americans, China has the appeal of a mysterious and ancient country. But as far as that audience is concerned, the pandemic started in China. Have the concerns over China’s tourism safety and health been addressed? That’s the point.”
Lan, a Taipei-based overseas representative of a U.S. state-level tourism bureau, also believes that China’s political atmosphere has long been a key factor that keeps foreigners away. She stated, “China has a good tourism environment, but in general, foreigners are less likely to agree with its politics.”
Given the current political tensions between the United States and China, tourism between the two countries has reached a freezing point. In August 2023, China lifted its stringent pandemic restrictions on group tours to most countries. However, the U.S. State Department’s current travel advisory for China is set at level three, which means “reconsider travel,” just one level below the “do not travel” warning.
Lan believes that Americans are currently reluctant to visit China, and Chinese tourists are also staying away from the U.S. resorts where they used to flock.
In conclusion, while China’s expanded visa-free policy has led to a significant increase in the number of foreign visitors, there are still several challenges that need to be addressed. The country’s political atmosphere, post-pandemic safety concerns, and high air ticket prices
