BEIJING – Weaving through a horde of Chinese tourists clutching delicate blown-sugar figurines, tea and selfie sticks, Mr Joao Esteves, a Portuguese, stands out as a rare foreigner in one of Beijing’s oldest alleyways.
“I was just in Azerbaijan last week and seeing where I could go from there, and there was a good flight that was quite affordable. In Europe, we hear a lot about China, so I wanted to see the country for myself,” said the 25-year-old software engineer in Nanluoguxiang, Dongcheng district, on Nov 8.
What made China even more appealing to the solo traveller was that he did not need a visa for the trip. The Chinese government has been rolling out visa exemptions in earnest to dozens of countries over the past year. Portugal was granted the waiver in October.
Despite efforts to revitalise the country’s inbound tourism sector, international travellers are still not returning to China fast enough. It has been more than 18 months since the country reopened its borders, but international tourist numbers have not reached pre-pandemic levels.
Particularly noticeable is the slower return of American tourists, once a key market for the East Asian titan.
Analysts and tourism businesses told The Straits Times that cancellations by international airlines of flights and routes to China in recent months, coupled with geopolitical tensions, have dampened the sector’s recovery from the pandemic.
China recorded an estimated 95 million inbound tourist arrivals in the first nine months of 2024, according to the government. This is around 93.4 per cent of the number for the same period in 2019.
The Chinese government has pulled out all stops to bolster inbound tourism by addressing pain points in recent months.
In March and April, the Chinese authorities made payments easier for foreigners by improving access to mobile payment platforms such as WeChat and Alipay. Major tourist attractions and hotels with three-star ratings or higher were instructed to accept overseas bank cards. In May, hotel operators were barred from turning away foreigners.
Visa exemptions have also been rapidly expanded to more than 50 nations. On Nov 8, visa-free entry for up to 15 days was extended to nine more countries, including South Korea, a key source of tourists.
These efforts have met some success. In the first half of 2024, 58 per cent of foreign visitors entered China under visa-free arrangements. Similar levels were logged in the third quarter.
Mr Edmund Ong, general manager of Trip.com in Singapore, said the online travel agency’s revenue from China inbound travel is now higher than what it was prior to the pandemic, accounting for more than a quarter of its revenue.
“Particularly, bookings from countries with visa-free entry to China are growing at the fastest rate,” he said.
Some observers said that China’s motivation for the slew of measures appears to extend beyond simply increasing inbound travel numbers.
They said the measures are aimed at boosting its public image and diplomacy, rather than borne out of necessity.
