China Travel Boomed in 2024! Visa-Free Entry Increased by 123.3% Year-

China Travel Boomed in 2024! Visa-Free Entry Increased by 123.3% Year-on-Year Over the First 11 Months

HUGO HU

Dec 31, 2024

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Science and Technology Innovation Daily (December 29, by reporter Xu Cihou)

In May this year, Elise, a foreign girl on a global journey, arrived in Hunan to start a one-week trip to Changsha and Zhangjiajie. She said, "I've met a great group of travel companions, tasted some incredible food, and seen breathtaking scenery!"

In the comments section of TikTok, when a local from Changsha asked if she was still touring there, she replied that her trip was short but left with a longing sentiment, "I will come back to China! Your country is so beautiful." Behind this phenomenon is a series of visa-free policies introduced by China since the end of last year.

Currently, China has extended the 72 or 144-hour transit visa-free policy to 240 hours for nationals from 54 countries, which has attracted a large number of foreign tourists. Simultaneously, on TikTok, numerous videos under the hashtag "ChinaTravel" have been posted by overseas users, garnering high engagement and positive comments, with many foreign tourists expressing a keen interest in traveling to China.

According to the latest data released by the National Immigration Administration, from January to November 2024, the number of foreigners entering through various ports in China reached 29.218 million, an increase of 86.2% year-on-year; among them, 17.446 million entered visa-free, a 123.3% increase year-on-year. Particularly this year, the 72/144-hour transit visa-free policy has been widely welcomed both domestically and internationally, with the number of foreigners entering under this policy increasing by 132.9% year-on-year.

Liang Jianzhang, co-founder and chairman of Ctrip Group, recently stated that the inbound tourism market in China still has a growth potential of trillions of yuan, which has not been fully exploited. He believes that by showcasing China's unique charm and enhancing global engagement, the inbound tourism market will see broader development opportunities.

According to estimates by Morgan Stanley, inbound tourism could bring China cumulative revenue of 1.7 to 4.5 trillion dollars over the next 10 years, with its contribution to China's GDP expected to rise to 2% to 4% in a decade. This forecast underscores the importance and potential of the inbound tourism market, providing strong support for the future development of China's tourism industry.

Visa-Free Policy Makes "China Travel" Popular Among Overseas Tourists

More and more foreigners are coming to China for travel.

On December 17, inbound tourism received another boost with the visa-free transit policy extending the stay duration from 72 or 144 hours to 240 hours, expanding the number of applicable ports from 39 to 60, and increasing the number of provinces from 19 to 24.

Within half an hour of the announcement, the search volume for China-related destinations on Ctrip's overseas platforms in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific increased by 85%, 163%, and 116% respectively. The search volume from France, Canada, and Russia saw the largest increases.

According to Tongcheng Travel, within one hour of the announcement, the search volume for domestic hotels and inbound flights by overseas tourists increased by 87% compared to the same time the previous day. The New Year holds high appeal for foreign tourists, with hotel bookings for the days around New Year's Day seeing over a fivefold increase compared to the same period the previous day.

It's worth noting that social media is playing an increasingly significant role in the inbound tourism market in China. On TikTok, the hashtag #chinatravel has nearly 90,000 videos. For example, the City of Tides in Haining, Zhejiang, has garnered 1.37 million likes, while the dreamy night view of Chongqing has exceeded 1.4 million likes.

Ctrip has informed the Science and Technology Innovation Daily that global inbound tourism has almost returned to 2019 levels, and with the push from China's visa-free policies, inbound tourism to China has recovered to 90% of 2019 levels. Among the destinations, Chengdu is the most popular among foreign tourists.

Ctrip data shows that from January to November 2024, Chengdu received 1.472 million inbound tourists, a 163.8% increase year-on-year. The number of foreign tourists (excluding those from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) was 1.011 million, a 186% increase year-on-year.

The top five countries for visitors to Chengdu are Malaysia, Thailand, the United States, Vietnam, and South Korea. Among many cities in China, Southeast Asian tourists, led by Malaysians, have a particular affection for Chengdu.

A local tour guide in Chengdu told the reporter that in December, nearly 70% of the foreign tourists he served were from Malaysia; 15% were from Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam; the rest were from Australia and Europe.

The guide analyzed that the reason for the high proportion of Malaysians in Chengdu is not only due to the convenience of the visa-free policy but also because of the many direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Chengdu with affordable ticket prices. Malaysian tourists are particularly fond of the western Sichuan region, where the unique landscapes of snow mountains, grasslands, and plateaus are highly attractive to visitors from tropical countries.

The Potential of the Inbound Tourism Market is Huge, with Trillions in Growth Waiting to be Explored

With the vigorous development of the inbound tourism market, relevant tourism companies are experiencing unprecedented dividends.

Taking Caesar Travel as an example, the company began actively expanding in the inbound tourism sector in 2023 and achieved significant results. According to its financial report, in 2023, Caesar Travel achieved total revenue of 582 million yuan, an increase of 89.90% year-on-year; net profit attributable to the parent company was as high as 607 million yuan, an increase of 158.68% year-on-year. In the first three quarters of this year, the company maintained good momentum, achieving revenue of 508 million yuan, up 5.08% year-on-year; although the net profit attributable to the parent company still showed a loss of 18 million yuan, it had grown by 92.30% year-on-year; the non-GAAP net profit loss was 25 million yuan, up 83.01% year-on-year.

UTour also stated on investor platforms that, thanks to China's gradual relaxation and optimization of transit policies, continuous expansion of the visa-free "circle of friends," and ongoing improvements in inbound infrastructure, the inbound tourism market is entering a rapid growth phase. To meet the diverse needs of foreign tourists, UTour's inbound service company, Ubi, has launched numerous flexible, high-end customized products, including detailed services like Halal meals and vegetarian options. In the future, as the length of stay for inbound tourists increases, Ubi will continue to develop richer, more considerate tourism products to meet the diverse needs of tourists.

At the same time, the rapid growth of the inbound tourism market has caught the attention of many entrepreneurs.

On Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), numerous people have targeted the inbound tourism industry.

The Science and Technology Innovation Daily reporter noticed that multiple "Inbound Tourism Entrepreneurship Exchange Groups" have emerged on Xiaohongshu, each with nearly 500 members. These groups gather a variety of entrepreneurs; some are backed by established international travel agencies, aiming to create a new independent OTA platform for inbound tourism, while others are overseas students using platforms like TikTok to promote and sell inbound tourism products to overseas users.

Qin Mao, who previously studied in Europe, told the Science and Technology Innovation Daily that after seeing many foreigners interested in "China Travel" on TikTok, and learning about Chengdu's incentives for inbound tourism, he and three classmates returned to Chengdu in September to start a business focused on inbound tourism.

According to Qin Mao, their project currently hosts 30 to 50 groups of foreign tourists each month, with a stable monthly sales amount of around 150,000 yuan and a profit margin exceeding 50%. October was particularly impressive, hosting 64 groups of foreign tourists.

However, Qin Mao believes that entrepreneurship in inbound tourism is not without challenges. How to effectively attract foreign tourists and how to integrate quality local tourism resources are urgent issues they need to address.