China has announced that it will reopen its borders to foreign tourists for the first time in three years since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The move comes after authorities declared victory over a recent surge in the virus and aims to help rekindle the country's $17 trillion economy, which suffered one of its slowest rates of growth in nearly half a century last year. The boost to the tourism sector is expected to have a significant impact on the economy.
The foreign ministry said on Tuesday that China will restore the issuance of all types of visas from Wednesday, removing the last cross-border control measure imposed to guard against COVID-19. Areas in China that required no visas before the pandemic, including the southern tourist island of Hainan and cruise ships passing through Shanghai port, will revert to visa-free entry. Visa-free entry to the southern manufacturing hub of Guangdong for foreigners from Hong Kong and Macau will also be resumed. Foreigners holding visas issued before March 28, 2020, that are still within their validity dates will also be able to enter China.
Resumption of visas will boost the travel from different countries
The resumption of all types of visas removes a significant barrier in the resumption of normal travel between the UK and China, according to Tom Simpson, managing director of the China-Britain Business Council. He added that the council had already seen business travel applications and arrivals begin to increase since January, but this news should lead to a significant increase in visits, particularly for tourism.
In January, China withdrew its advisory against foreign travel and added another 40 countries to its list for which group tours are allowed, bringing the total number of countries to 60. The country also cancelled quarantine requirements for incoming travellers. Inbound and outbound international flights have increased more than 350% compared to a year earlier, according to Chinese flight tracking APP Flight Master, although they are still just 17.4% of 2019 levels.
In 2022, just 115.7 million cross-border trips were made in and out of China, with foreigners accounting for around 4.5 million. In contrast, China logged 670 million overall trips in 2019 before the arrival of COVID-19, with foreigners accounting for 97.7 million.
Beijing abandoned its draconian zero-COVID policies in December, and the new premier Li Qiang said on Monday that China took less than two months to achieve a smooth transition in its response to COVID-19. He also stated that the country's strategies and measures had been completely correct.
