The number of foreign visitors China rose by 129.9 percent in the first seven months of the year when compared with the same period in 2023, according to official figures cited by the Xinhua news agency.
Between January and July, 17.25 million foreign passport holders visited the country – spending nearly 3,500 yuan on average each day, the deputy head of the National Immigration Administration, Liu Haitao, said at a press conference.
He added that the visitors likely boosted consumption by more than 100 billion yuan (about 14 billion U.S. dollars).
[See more: Mainland China has simplified some of its entry protocols for foreigners]
During the period, 846,000 “port visas” were issued to foreign nationals Liu said – a year-on-year rise of almost 200 percent.
Allowing last minute business travellers to apply for their visas at major entry ports, rather than going through a lengthier process in their own country, was a new measure launched at the start of this year to boost tourism.
China has been smoothing the way for foreigners to visit since lifting its zero-Covid policies in March 2023. It is allowing visa-free travel for up to 15 days to nationals from a number of European countries, along with those from several Asian countries including Thailand and Singapore. A similar initiative involves making it easier for foreigners to navigate the country’s virtually cashless payments system.
