The large crowds have returned to Beijing's heavenly temples and many other places in China. This is because the country will expand its visa-free travel and increase tourism revenue.
Starting July 16th, a total of 74 countries will be able to travel to China for 30 days without a visa.
“This really helps people travel because visas are very troublesome,” said George Shavaze, a Georgian dynasty living in Austria.
The new rules are good news for the tourism industry. China is struggling to regain the number of visitors after the country's severe closure during the community pandemic.
China reopened its borders to international tourists in early 2023, but only 13.8 million people visited in 2023, less than half of 2019, the last year before its closure.
“This year, we're only on the way. We're already matching our gross revenues for 2024. We've seen an approximately 50% increase in terms of travellers, number of tour groups booked and overall spending compared to the pre-pandemic period.”
The new announcement allows most tourists in the Global North to travel to China without a visa, but not a single African country has been granted visa exemption status.
This is despite recent efforts by China to increase its presence in Africa. In June, SuperPower announced it would remove trade tariffs on imports from 53 African states with diplomatic relations.
