China has significantly eased its visa policy, allowing citizens of 74 countries to enter the country for up to 30 days without a visa, a major expansion aimed at reviving tourism and strengthening economic and cultural ties.
Foreign tourist arrivals have begun to increase following the relaxed rules, with over 20 million travelers entering China without a visa in 2024, according to the National Immigration Administration. This figure accounts for nearly one-third of all international arrivals and is more than double the total from the previous year.
“This really helps people to travel because it is such a hassle to apply for a visa and go through the process,” said Giorgi Shavadze, a Georgian citizen living in Austria, during a recent visit to the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.
The change comes after China reopened its borders to foreign tourists in early 2023, following the lifting of strict COVID-19 restrictions. Only 13.8 million visitors entered China that year, compared to 31.9 million in 2019.
In December 2023, China began its visa-free rollout with France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia. Since then, nearly all European nations have been added, along with several Latin American and Middle Eastern countries. Azerbaijan will become the 75th on the list starting July 16. About two-thirds of these countries are participating in the program on a one-year trial basis.
Tour operators in China say they are already feeling the effects. “I’m practically overwhelmed with tours and struggling to keep up,” said Gao Jun, a veteran English-speaking tour guide. He recently launched a training business for aspiring guides to meet growing demand. “I just can’t handle them all on my own,” he said.
For some travelers, the policy change means avoiding time-consuming and expensive visa processes. “They don’t very often open, so it was much harder,” said Øystein Sporsheim, a Norwegian tourist, referring to embassy visits in Oslo for visa applications.
Jenny Zhao, managing director of luxury travel agency WildChina, called the new policy “100% beneficial.” Her company’s business has increased by 50% compared with pre-pandemic levels. While U.S. tourists still represent about 30% of their clientele, Zhao noted a significant rise in European travelers, now making up 15–20% compared to less than 5% before 2019.
Shanghai-based Trip.com Group reported that air, hotel, and travel bookings for China doubled in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, with 75% of those bookings coming from visa-free countries.
Despite China’s close ties with many African nations, no major African country is currently eligible for the visa-free program. However, a separate 10-day transit policy applies to travelers from 55 countries, including 10 not on the 30-day list, as long as they enter China and depart for a different third country. The policy is available at 60 ports of entry.
The 10 countries excluded from the 30-day list but eligible for the transit policy include the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Sweden, Russia, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Indonesia, Canada, the United States, and Mexico.
Notably, Sweden, a high-income European country, remains off the list amid strained diplomatic relations. In 2020, Chinese authorities sentenced Swedish publisher Gui Minhai to 10 years in prison. He had vanished in 2015 from his home in Thailand and later reappeared in custody in China.
With a growing number of travelers entering visa-free, China’s tourism and travel sectors are bracing for what could be a record-breaking summer season.
