China’s efforts to bring back foreign visitors are bearing fruit, but will they be enough?

China spent the past year opening its arms to foreign visitors in an effort to revive its sluggish economy and improve the country’s image internationally in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The easing of visa restrictions, and other measures, have helped drive an 86 per cent increase in visitor numbers in the first 11 months of the year compared with the same period in 2023, according to the National Immigration Administration.

But the 29 million trips from overseas recorded to the end of November 2024 is still 40 per cent below the figure recorded in the same period in 2019, and foreign residents and visitors alike have said there are a number of barriers that are still putting off people from coming to China.

These range from practical problems such as language barriers or the “Great Firewall” to wider international political tensions.

Over the course of the year, China has been steadily increasing the number of countries whose citizens can enjoy visa-free access for up to 30 days. It has also been easing a number of other restrictions.

Most recently it said it would allow citizens of 54 countries – including the United States, Australia, Japan and much of Europe – 10 days of visa-free transit.

  

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