Europe Is A Target For China's Tourism Marketing Efforts

Nationals of five European nations and Malaysia will no longer need a visa to enter China.

The move is part of the country's efforts to attract more business and tourists. French, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, and Malaysian nationals will be able to visit China visa-free for a maximum of 15 days beginning on December 1. In all, the trial program will be operational for a period of one year.

According to international Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning, the goal is to encourage the superior growth of Chinese and international personnel interactions and high-level openness up to the outside world.

Tourists from across the world are still waiting for China to recover from the pandemic crisis. Many travellers were deterred from visiting China for over three years because of the country's stringent outbreak precautions, which included mandatory quarantines for all visitors. Although the limitations were relaxed earlier this year, international travel has still not recovered to the levels before COVID.

Following the coronavirus pandemic, China temporarily halted its visa-free entry policy for Brunei, Japan, and Singaporean nationals. In July, visa-free access was reinstated for Singapore and Brunei, but it remains unavailable for Japan.

The immigration figures show that 8.4 million foreign nationals entered and left China in the first half of this year. When compared to 977 million in 2019, the year before the epidemic, it is rather low.

The government is actively courting international investors in an effort to revitalise a flagging economy. Notable executives, such as Elon Musk of Tesla and Tim Cook of Apple, have been attending trade shows and meetings in the country. Tourists from overseas are still much less common now than they were before the outbreak.

Yet Chinese tourism has been booming this year among European countries. Compared to 2022, total reservations from Europe to China increased by 663 percent, and from 2019 to 2020, they increased by over 29 percent, according to information compiled by online travel operator Trip.com. According to the report, two of the top ten countries from which tourists go to China were the UK and Germany. Most people go to Shenzhen and Shanghai.

The government is doing even more to entice tourists by highlighting its cultural and historical landmarks, in addition to its new visa-free programs. Technology, travel guides, and electronic payment systems are all areas where China is spending to improve its tourist infrastructure.

 

Source: euronews.com