SINGAPORE, Nov. 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- China has announced that it will expand the
scope of its unilateral visa-free policy for ordinary passport
holders from six countries: France, Germany, Italy, the
Netherlands, Spain, and
Malaysia. The policy will be
implemented on a trial basis.
Effective from December 1, 2023,
to November 30, 2024, people holding
ordinary passports from the aforementioned countries can visit
China for business, leisure and
transit, visiting for up to 15 days without a visa. This new policy
is expected to facilitate more accessible travel and promote closer
ties between China and the
countries involved.
The move is also expected to promote the recovery of the Chinese
inbound tourism market. In the first ten months of 2023, Trip.com
already saw four-digit growth in visitor numbers when compared with
the same period in 2022. This equates to more than 60% of
pre-pandemic levels. Data further shows that Malaysia and Germany are among the top 10 sources of
inbound tourism over the same period. At the time of writing,
pageviews on flights from Malaysia
to China jumped by 48.69% on 24
November, compared to the same day a week ago.
Long-haul inbound travel is also showing signs of recovery,
surpassing pre-pandemic levels. For instance, European bookings to
China saw a remarkable increase of
663.0% compared to 2022 and a significant growth of 28.9% when
compared to 2019.
To boost inbound travel to China, Trip.com Group has also recently signed
a strategic framework agreement to implement the "Nihao!
China" program with the China
International Culture Association, which includes filming and
producing global promotional videos to showcase China's beauty as a travel destination.
Additionally, the framework will look to build a service
platform for inbound travel and organise activities at the China
International Tourism Fair, the Sino-French Tourism Year, the
China-US Tourism High-Level Dialogue, and the World Conference on
Tourism Development, among other events. Favourable inbound tourism
policies are expected to continue to be implemented, providing new
development opportunities for the inbound tourism industry and
enhancing their service capabilities.
Trip.com has recently released the "China Travel Guide," a
comprehensive guide that provides international visitors with
travel-related information such as hotel reservations, travel
advice, transportation options, payment methods, insights into
popular destinations, and more. Since its launch in September, it
has already served nearly 100,000 overseas visitors. As of the time
of publishing, visits to Trip.com's "China Travel Guide" page, have
increased by more than 30%.
Compared with the rapid recovery of domestic and outbound
tourism, the recovery of inbound tourism is relatively slower.
According to a report by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the
number of inbound tours received by national travel agencies in the
first half of 2023 was 477,800, while in the first half of 2019, it
was 8,561,600.
However, inbound tourism is where new opportunities lie.
Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group,
said: "China's inbound tourism has
huge potential, and if it is raised to the international median of
1.5% of GDP, it will bring at least nearly one thousand, three
hundred and ten billion yuan of
growth space."
Trip.com Group will support inbound tourism by utilising its
technological expertise to make it easier for visitors to travel to
China. It will also bring together
various resources to promote tourism while showcasing China's unique tourist attractions to attract
visitors from all over the world.
About Trip.com Group
Trip.com Group is a leading global travel service provider
comprising of Trip.com, Ctrip, Skyscanner, and Qunar. Across its
platforms, Trip.com Group helps travellers around the world make
informed and cost-effective bookings for travel products and
services and enables partners to connect their offerings with users
through the aggregation of comprehensive travel-related content and
resources, and an advanced transaction platform consisting of apps,
websites and 24/7 customer service centres. Founded in 1999 and
listed on NASDAQ in 2003 and HKEX in 2021, Trip.com Group has
become one of the best-known travel groups in the world, with the
mission "to pursue the perfect trip for a better world". Find out
more about Trip.com Group here: www.group.trip.com.
Follow us on: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1026638/4422617/Trip_com_Group_Logo.jpg
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/tripcom-sees-increase-in-visits-after-china-expands-visa-free-travel-to-6-countries-301997421.html