A Chinese student teaches a German student Chinese calligraphy at a school in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, Aug. 7, 2024. (Photo: Xinhua)
Chinese localities have been eyeing the growth potential of the ever-rising "China Travel" fever by setting targets and implementing corresponding policy boosts.
In one of the latest moves, Dalian in Northeast China's Liaoning Province on Saturday released 10 measures in a bid to boost its inbound tourism, aiming to achieve a 50 percent increase in the number of inbound tourists through measures covering aspects including policies, products and services while fully utilizing the 240-hour visa-free transit policy, according to a post on Dalian Fabu, Dalian's official WeChat account.
The measures include advancing a pilot program for immediate tax refunds upon purchase for departure tax rebates and establishing emergency medical green channels at designated hospitals to prioritize urgent care for international visitors, Chinanews.com reported on Saturday.
From January 1 through Saturday, the Dalian airport recorded 34,000 foreign national entries, up 49 percent year-on-year. Among these, 21,000 entries were facilitated through visa-free policies and the 240-hour visa-free transit policy, accounting for 63.6 percent of the total inbound foreign arrivals, per the report.
East China's Zhejiang Province, one of the country's economic powerhouses, released a dedicated plan earlier in March. The plan targets a China Travel model, driving inbound tourism to lead the country with a goal to double international visitor arrivals by 2030, the official provincial WeChat account said in a post on March 19.
In addition to organizing 50 major promotion events across the province in 2025, Zhejiang will accelerate the development of a targeted intelligent large model and the creation of an intelligent agent. Inbound tourism services - including smart guided tours, personalized itinerary planning, consultation and complaint resolution, and scenic area access - will be optimized via a dedicated inbound tourism-focused app.
Optimized payment methods for inbound travelers, expanding coverage of visa-free policies, improved translation services and tailored tourism products rich in traditional Chinese cultural characteristics have made it easier for inbound tourists to visit, spend and enjoy their travels in China, Jiang Yiyi, a vice dean of the School of Leisure Sports and Tourism at Beijing Sport University, told the Global Times on Sunday.
South China's Hainan Province, another scenic province famous for its tropical experiences, welcomed more than 500,000 inbound passengers through overseas flights that landed at the province's three major airports from the beginning of the year to Friday, up 29.44 percent year-on-year, local news outlet Hainan Daily reported on Sunday.
Aiming to further expand its global influence, the province on Tuesday announced plans to recruit foreign international ambassadors around the world. Selected candidates will receive multiple incentives including being invited to Hainan for free to participate in in-person activities, while the province will set up 29 tourism promotion offices in 18 countries and regions to carry out regular market development, according to media reports.
Tourism has become a major means for Chinese localities to propel consumption, especially as tourism can integrate with different sectors while promoting the development of various industries, Song Ding, a research fellow at the China Development Institute, said on Sunday.
Visa-free policies coupled with stimulus plans implemented by localities is a combination that will significantly drive up local consumption, Song told the Global Times.
Although inbound tourists are fewer in numbers compared with domestic tourists, they demonstrate notable advantages in personal spending and consumption patterns, which holds significant positive implications for both the international promotion of the region's image and subsequent attraction of foreign investment, according to Jiang.
The Ministry of Commerce and the National Development and Reform Commission in February issued the 2025 Action Plan for Stabilizing Foreign Investment to intensify efforts to attract and stabilize foreign investment for the year.
The plan said that China will accelerate negotiations on mutual visa exemption agreements, and continue to expand the coverage of China's unilateral visa-free policy in a prudent manner. Policies for port visas, visa-free transit and regional visa-free entry will be optimized to promote cross-border movements of people, per the plan.
