Visa-free policy sparks tourism search surge

A unilateral visa-free policy by China for ordinary passport holders from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia on a trial basis has triggered a surge in online searches of flights and tour products, major domestic travel operators revealed.

The searches of inbound air tickets from Malaysia soared 300 percent as of 6pm on Friday following the announcement of the policy from a day earlier, and the increase was more than 100 percent for the other five countries, according to major domestic online travel operator Tongcheng Travel.

Overall, the searches of inbound air tickets grew 12 percent following the policy, it said.

Shanghai-based online travel operator Trip.com said visits to the China Travel Guide 2023 page on its online international version, which primarily serves overseas travelers to China, witnessed a 300-percent-plus surge on Friday from a day earlier.

The recovery of inbound tourism is relatively slow compared to that of domestic and outbound tourism, it said.

In the first half of this year, travel agencies in China recorded 477,800 visits of inbound tourists compared to 8.56 million in the same period in 2019, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

According to the China Tourism Academy, inbound tourism revenue accounted for 0.5 percent of China's GDP in 2019. It will generate 1.3 trillion yuan if the figure reaches the international medium level of 1.5 percent, reflecting the enormous potential of China's inbound tourism market, Trip.com revealed.

"It is a very encouraging policy as it tackles a big 'barrier' confronting the recovery of inbound tourism market," said Zhou Weihong, deputy general manager of Shanghai Spring Tour.

"We have immediately enhanced our communication with our outbound partners to turn the policy into fruitful results."

Trip.com said it has set the target of a 150 percent increase of inbound tourists it serves in 2024 from 2019.

From December 1, 2023 to November 30, 2024, holders of ordinary passports from the six countries may enter China visa-free for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends and transit for no more than 15 days, according to the statement published on the Chinese Foreign Ministry's social media account.