The world’s second largest economy, China, has extended visa-free entry for more than 70 countries to boost its tourism.
According to Associated Press, after welcoming millions of tourists last year, China has, in a major development, decided to open its door for the citizens of 74 countries for more than 30 days.
As per the National Immigration Administration, over 20 million tourists visited China in 2024, which was more than double from the previous year. Seeing the boost in tourism, the government has decided to slowly expand its visa-free entry to uplift the economy.
China opened its doors for tourism early in 2023 after the COVID-19 pandemic, but only 13.8 million people visited the country, far less than the 31.9 million in 2019, before the pandemic.
Official sources of the Travel and Tour World confirmed that under the new visa-free extension, citizens of the 43 countries, including Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia, will be able to stay in the country for up to 30 days.
Nationals of the world’s most well-travelled countries, like the UK, Poland, New Zealand, and Singapore, will also get the visa-free entry for over a month.
Moreover, as part of the trial program, Latin American countries, including Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, and European countries, such as Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia, Malta, and four others, can visit China without a visa for 30 days.
It is believed that the new policy would reshape tourism in China and would help in boosting the economy and strengthening diplomatic ties.
