Beijing (TDI): With the latest relaxation and extension of its immigration policies, China is likely to become a popular destination for foreign tourists this New Year holiday season.
The number of inbound and outbound travelers will hit 2.05 million per day during the New Year holiday season in China, up 18.8% year on year, as the National Immigration Administration has predicted.
Peak hours are likely to occur mainly on the evening of December 31, 2024 and January 1, 2025.
During the holiday season, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Chengdu’s four major airports are likely to handle approximately 200,000 international passengers daily.
Earlier this month, China announced major relaxation of its visa-free transit policy, extending the permitted stay for eligible foreign travelers from the initial seventy-two hours and subsequent 144 hours to 240 hours, or ten days.
Under the updated policy, eligible citizens from 54 nations can enter China visa-free when transiting to a third country or region.
These travelers may enter through any of the sixty ports across twenty-four provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities and stay within the designated areas for up to 240 hours.
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Moreover, China has introduced full mutual visa exemption with 26 nations and a unilateral visa-free policy for 38 countries.
According to the statistics of Shanghai General Station of Immigration Inspection, from December 17 to 24, the station issued 240-hour temporary entry permits to bout one thousand foreigners.
Top 5 Countries
The top 5 nations are Russia, the US, Britain, Sweden and Canada.
Since China extended its visa-free policy to South Korea and Japan last month, 11,000 passenger flights between Shanghai and the two nations and 363,000 South Korean and Japanese tourists have been logged at Shanghai General Station of Immigration Inspection.
The passenger number increased by more than 20% compared with the corresponding period from September to October.
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Meanwhile, the southern Chinese island province of Hainan has always enjoyed the best visa-free entry policy in the country.
Since the beginning of this year, over 350,000 foreign tourists have entered Hainan visa-free, a year-on-year increase of more than three times, accounting for 85% of the foreign tourists visiting the tropical island.
