Spring fest attracts more foreign tourists

As Spring Festival approaches, China's tourism market continues to heat up as the country welcomes a surging number of international visitors, industry players observed.

So far, the booking volume of inbound tours to China for this year's Spring Festival has jumped over 200 percent year-on-year, with the bookings of foreign travelers mainly coming from South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, the United States and Australia, according to Trip.com Group, China's largest online travel agency.

Their top destinations in China include Shanghai; Shenzhen and Guangzhou in Guangdong province; Beijing; Harbin, Heilongjiang province; and Chengdu, Sichuan province, Trip.com found.

"This year's Spring Festival will be the first after it was recognized on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. We welcome global tourists coming to China to celebrate the Chinese New Year together and experience the strong festive mood," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a news conference.

China has been continuously optimizing its visa-free and visa-on-arrival policies to facilitate foreign travel to the country. It recently extended transit visa-free stays to 240 hours and increased the number of eligible ports of entry to 60, opening the door to more international travelers.

In 2024, the number of inbound and outbound foreigners at all ports of China reached 64.88 million, up 82.9 percent year-on-year. This included over 20 million visa-free entries, jumping 112.3 percent on a yearly basis. In the just concluded New Year's holiday, the number of foreigners entering the country grew by nearly 34 percent year-on-year, according to the National Immigration Administration.

Since Dec 27, international visitors transferring flights in Beijing are able to take half-day complimentary tours of the capital city. Launched by Trip.com, it is the first such type of tourist promotion in Beijing.

Passengers can apply to participate in the half-day tour at Terminal 3 of Beijing Capital International Airport. The tour includes complimentary shuttle services, foreign language tour guides, admission tickets and Wi-Fi services.

Departing from the airport, travelers can visit the Badaling Great Wall or the Beijing Central Axis — which includes a visit to the Temple of Heaven, Qian'men Street and Tiananmen Square.

So far, passengers from nearly 50 countries including Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Singapore have participated in the tours in Beijing, Trip.com said.

Trip.com data also found that foreign visitors' five favorite attractions in Beijing are Beijing Universal Studios, the Badaling Great Wall, the Mutianyu Great Wall, the Palace Museum and the Summer Palace.

In April of last year, Trip.com launched a similar half-day complimentary tour service in Shanghai, offering foreign travelers who transferred flights in Shanghai to participate in the tour from Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

"With preferential travel policies, China has provided more opportunities for foreigners to visit the country. Various innovative measures have been taken across China to promote the deep integration of culture and tourism development," said Li Xinjian, a professor at Beijing International Studies University.