Guangdong officials say that a raft of tourist-friendly policies rolled out over recent years are increasing the number of foreigners visiting the province, GD Today has reported.
Speaking at a conference about inbound tourism last Thursday, the head of Guangzhou’s border inspection bureau, Zhou Yingqiang, credited the 144-hour visa-free transit policy for overseas visitors from 54 nations with much of the rise.
Noting that almost 5,200 foreign passport holders were issued with permits at the city’s Baiyun Airport in the first half of the year, Zhou said the policy had resulted in a 61 percent increase in the number of foreigners visiting Guangdong when compared with the same period in pre-pandemic 2019. The policy was implemented in May 2019.
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More convenient payment options for international visitors were also reportedly fuelling the rise. Ninety-five percent of merchants in 82 of Guangdong’s key commercial districts now accept international bank cards, and 71 percent of the province’s ATM machines allow international cards to withdraw cash.
WeChat Pay – one of China’s most ubiquitous cashless payment options – has been lifting restrictions to make it easier for foreigners to use it, with the application currently allowing users to link cards from five major international brands. These are Mastercard, Visa, Discover Global Network, American Express and JCB.
It’s also become easier for foreigners to obtain tax refunds, according to a spokesperson from the Guangdong Provincial Taxation Bureau.
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The province’s authorities have been pushing for travel agencies in various Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities, including Macao, to develop four-to-six-day cross-border tours around the region for foreigners.
These could involve more than sightseeing, a travel agent named Koon Kin told TDM. He said his firm was organising Guangdong tours where participants could “gain insight into the operations of wholesale markets with a view to facilitating the expansion of their foreign trade business.”
Guangdong is not the only Chinese province working to boost tourism numbers. Since the removal of its Zero Covid measures in late 2022, China as a whole has been ramping up its efforts to boost the number of international travellers and overseas investment in order to shore up its ailing economy, which has been plagued by property market woes, youth unemployment and US-led trade restrictions.
According to official data, more than 14.6 million foreigners travelled to the country in the first six months of this year.
