Increase in Foreign Visitors to China Following Visa Policy Optimization

In the initial three days of the Spring Festival travel rush, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport recorded around 140,000 passenger movements. The National Immigration Administration has announced a remarkable surge in the number of foreigners visiting China in the first quarter of this year, attributed to the ongoing improvements in the country's cross-border travel policies.

The enhancement of China's visa-free transit policy, which was implemented in December, has led to impressive statistics, with over 9.2 million foreign visitors entering the country between January and March. This represents a 40.2% increase compared to the previous year, with 71.3% of these entries being visa-free. The policy extension, which increased the visa-free transit duration from 72 to 240 hours for citizens of 54 countries, allows travelers to enter through 60 ports and explore 24 provincial-level regions.

Lin Yongsheng, the spokesperson for the administration, emphasized that the new policy enables foreign travelers to spend more time in China and visit a wider variety of locations. Almost 60% of the foreign visitors take the opportunity to explore different regions, thereby enhancing the country's inbound tourism sector. Following the policy's optimization, popular tourist destinations in China, including Huangshan, Wuyishan, and Zhangjiajie, have seen a year-on-year visitor increase of 21.6%.

Plans are underway by the administration to further improve immigration management, aiming to create more efficient processes for entry, exit, and residency. The proposed changes include streamlining customs procedures for travelers and enhancing interactions between Chinese citizens and international visitors.

During the first quarter, there were 163 million reported entries and exits through immigration management agencies across China, marking a 15.3% rise compared to the previous year. Among these, approximately 17.4 million trips were made by foreign nationals, reflecting a substantial 33.4% increase.

Amid these positive trends, Chinese immigration authorities are also focusing on maintaining border security. They have investigated 2,851 cases of criminal activities affecting border management and apprehended 8,402 suspects in the first quarter. Additionally, authorities have dealt with 128 drug-related incidents and confiscated 201 firearms along with over 5,400 rounds of ammunition.