China Expands Visa-Waiver Program, Adding More Countries

China's approach to enhancing inbound tourism is taking a significant step forward. The country has gradually been recovering from a slowdown in international travel, and now it's inviting more global travelers by expanding its visa-waiver program.

During an official visit to Australia, Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced that Australia is the latest addition to China's expanding visa waiver program. This move aims to strengthen the relationship between the two nations by providing reciprocal five-year multiple entry visas for tourism, business, and family visits.

"We agreed to provide each other with reciprocal access to five-year multiple entry visas for tourism, business, and visiting family members to better facilitate personal exchanges. China will also include Australia in its visa waiver program," stated Premier Qiang.

This announcement follows a recent decision to grant visa-free entry to New Zealand citizens. Premier Qiang highlighted China's readiness to discuss additional measures to facilitate two-way travel with New Zealand.

Over the past year, China has been broadening its visa-free access to various countries. In November, a one-year trial was introduced for citizens of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia, followed by an expansion in March to include Ireland, Switzerland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The trial period, initially set to end on November 30, has been extended until December 31, 2025.

With the inclusion of Australia and New Zealand, a total of 14 countries now enjoy visa-free entry to China, allowing stays of up to 15 days for tourism, business, family visits, or transit purposes. Additionally, China has signed a 30-day mutual visa exemption agreement with Singapore and Thailand, and eased visa requirements for U.S. citizens.

Moreover, tourists arriving via cruise ships can now stay in China visa-free for up to 15 days, effective from May 15.

China’s Inbound Recovery and Future Prospects

China's tourism sector has been slow to regain its pre-pandemic momentum, welcoming 35.5 million foreign visitors in 2023, just 36% of the 97.7 million recorded in 2019. However, signs of resurgence are emerging. During the Lunar New Year in February, Trip.com Group reported a tenfold increase in inbound travel bookings compared to the previous year, with significant interest from countries including Japan, the U.S., South Korea, Malaysia, Australia, the U.K., Canada, Vietnam, Germany, and Thailand.

International travelers are also extending their stays in China, with the average duration during the Spring Festival increasing to just over two days. The booking window for travel to China has expanded from six days in 2023 to 39 days in 2024.

To further boost inbound tourism, China has partnered with major payment organizations like Ant Group and Mastercard. The International Consumer Friendly Zones program in Shanghai aims to make transactions smoother for global travelers, launched in collaboration with 12 overseas payment partners of Alipay+ and other major international card organizations.

The first quarter of 2024 showed a threefold increase in foreign travelers to China compared to the same period in 2023, with China issuing 466,000 visas and documents to foreigners, marking a 119% year-on-year increase. Nearly 1.99 million foreigners entered China visa-free, a 266% year-on-year rise.

Highlighting the economic potential of inbound tourism, Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group, stated, "China’s inbound tourism has huge potential, and if it is raised to the international median of 1.5% of GDP, it could yield a growth of over RMB 1.3 trillion ($179 billion)."