A tourist from Pakistan take a selfie at Hongyadong scenic area in Yuzhong district, in southwest China's Chongqing, July 8, 2024. Chongqing has handled more than 150,000 inbound and outbound foreign passengers in the first half of this year, 4.9 times that of the same period last year. With optimized visa policies, Chongqing keeps on improving the itinerary management for inbound tour groups, offering foreign travelers more flexible choices on the ports of entry and exit. (Photo: Xinhua)

Travel agencies from home and abroad are ramping up preparations for tourism products to China, after the country announced on Friday that it had decided to give visa-free treatment to another nine countries including Slovakia, Norway and South Korea on a trial basis.

Industry participants noted that the move is a powerful proof of China's commitment to continuously expanding opening-up, which will further boost the country's inbound tourism and related sectors including the catering industry, and promote more cultural exchanges between China and the world.

To further facilitate cross-border travels, China decided to give visa-free treatment to more countries by extending the policy to ordinary passport holders from Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein and South Korea on a trial basis, according to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

From November 8, 2024 to December 31, 2025, ordinary passport holders from these countries can be exempted from visa requirements to enter China and stay for no more than 15 days for business, tourism, family visits and transit purposes.

"The visa-free policy has an obvious effect on boosting inbound tourism. We have started to design and enrich our existing products, standing ready to welcome visitors from the aforementioned countries," said Chen Kai, manager of Beijing Botrip Tour Holiday Co, which specializes in inbound tourism.

Chen told the Global Times on Sunday that since March, the number of inbound tourists that the company has received has maintained a high growth rate, far exceeding that before the pandemic.

The visa-free policy for nine more countries will further boost China travel, Chen said. "European tourists, in particular, who often are in transit, will have more interest in traveling within China stimulated by the policy," Chen noted.

"Following the announcement, we have strengthened cooperation and communication with local travel agencies in visa-free countries, in a bid to provide support for services both domestically and internationally," Xu Xiaolei, a marketing manager from CYTS Tours Holding Co, told the Global Times on Sunday. 

Xu noted that the company will design better travel products for foreign tourists, allowing them to understand the diverse and rich Chinese culture and tourism opportunities. For instance, in addition to popular travel cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, the company will provide products for some niche leisure travel destinations.

Moreover, Yonhap News Agency, a South Korean media outlet, reported on Sunday that the South Korean tourism industry is full of anticipation for a growth in demand for travel to China.

One South Korean travel agency, Hana Tour, said in an interview with Yonhap that the visa-free policy has reduced the cost and time needed for obtaining a visa for travel to China, and the company anticipated a resurgence in the travel boom to China. 

Participants in the tourism industry believe that, driven by this policy, there will be an increased demand for travel to China among those aged 20 to 40, who previously did not pay much attention to traveling to China. As a result, various travel agencies are expanding their China travel products to cater to the diverse travel needs of all age groups, the report said. 

Chen believed that with the arrival of more overseas tourists, China's tourism industry will further recover and grow, and related industries such as catering, accommodation, and transportation will also be boosted.

"The expansion of visa-free policies has been warmly welcomed by many countries and tourists, demonstrating China's ongoing commitment to continuously expanding its opening-up to the world," Xu said, noting that the move will further promote cultural exchanges, and this is something that tourism market entities are happy to see.

According to the National Immigration Administration, in the third quarter of this year, the number of foreign nationals entering China through various ports reached 8.186 million, a year-on-year increase of 48.8 percent. A total of 4.885 million entered through the visa-free policy, marking a year-on-year gain of 78.6 percent.