Lionel Lim
Beijing is hoping that foreign visitors can help lift the economy out of its slump. Since removing its COVID quarantine controls in early 2023, Chinese officials have tried to make it easier for tourists to come to the country and spend money.
Around 17.3 million foreign visitors entered China between January and July, the National Immigration Administration said Monday, a 130% year-on-year increase. Foreign tourists are expected to contribute about 100 billion yuan ($14 billion) in direct spending this year, based on the amount foreign tourists spent per day last year (3,459 yuan, or $483).
Tourism would spur a sluggish Chinese economy, still struggling to grow at rates seen before the COVID pandemic.
Around 145 million tourists visited China in 2019, according to data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, of which 31.9 million came from locations other than Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan. Those 31.9 million tourists spent $77 billion.
The number of visitors to China collapsed during the COVID pandemic as Beijing imposed strict quarantine periods for anyone entering the country. China was also slower to reopen than many other countries, only fully lifting border restrictions in January 2023, and issuing foreign tourist visas a few months later.
China unilaterally eased restrictions for visitors from a dozen European countries, letting them stay in the country for up to 15 days visa-free. Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are also in China’s visa-free entry scheme.
Reservations from Southeast Asian visitors headed to China are “several times” higher than pre-pandemic levels, Klook CEO Ethan Lim said at a UBS investment conference in Hong Kong in late May.
China has also made it easier for foreigners to make transactions in increasingly cashless mainland China.
Since July 2023, foreign tourists have been able to link their foreign credit cards to Tencent’s WeChat and Ant Group’s Alipay, allowing them to more easily pay for goods and services during their travel. (Many merchants in China use local digital payment services—and some rarely accept cash.)
Chinese officials are also pressing businesses to accept foreign bank cards. In April, officials asked Chinese hotels with rankings of three stars or higher to accept foreign bank cards to make it easier for tourists to pay for things.
