At a press conference held by the State Immigration Administration today, Lin Yongsheng, spokesperson of the State Immigration Administration, said that since the implementation of the 240-hour transit visa-free policy, it has driven a significant increase in foreign tourists to China. As of March 31 this year, 9.215 million foreigners entered the country at ports across the country, an increase of 40.2% over the same period last year; of which 6.57 million people entered the country without visa, accounting for 71.3%. At the same time, the 240-hour transit visa-free policy has also led to the continued popularity of inbound tourism.
The transit visa-free policy provides longer stays and a larger range of activities to meet the diverse needs of foreign tourists, including short-term tours of "coming to China after get off work on Friday" and in-depth tours across provinces and cities. According to statistics, nearly 60% of foreigners coming to China choose to travel across regions, which effectively drives the inbound tourism market to continue to heat up. Since the implementation of the policy, more than 100,000 inbound passenger flights have increased by nearly 10% month-on-month. The number of foreigners visiting cities such as Huangshan, Wuyishan, and Zhangjiajie has increased by 21.6% year-on-year. "China Travel" (China Travel) continues to be popular all over the world.
(CCTV reporter Wu Bing)
