China extends visa-free entry to more than 70 countries to draw tourists
The government has been steadily expanding visa-free entry in a bid to boost tourism, the economy and its soft power. More than 20 million foreign visitors entered without a visa in 2024 — almost one-third of the total and more than double from the previous year, according to the National Immigration Administration.
'This really helps people to travel because it is such a hassle to apply for a visa and go through the process,' Georgi Shavadze, a Georgian living in Austria, said on a recent visit to the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.
While most tourist sites are still packed with far more domestic tourists than foreigners, travel companies and tour guides are now bracing for a bigger influx in anticipation of summer holiday goers coming to China.
'I'm practically overwhelmed with tours and struggling to keep up' says Gao Jun, a veteran English-speaking tour guide with over 20 years of experience. To meet growing demand, he launched a new business to train anyone interested in becoming an English-speaking tour guide. 'I just can't handle them all on my own' he said.
After lifting tough COVID-19 restrictions, China reopened its borders to tourists in early 2023, but only 13.8 million people visited in that year, less than half the 31.9 million in 2019, the last year before the pandemic.
In December 2023, China announced visa-free entry for citizens of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia. Almost all of Europe has been added since then. Travelers from five Latin American countries and Uzbekistan became eligible last month, followed by four in the Middle East. The total will grow to 75 on July 16 with the addition of Azerbaijan.
About two-thirds of the countries have been granted visa-free entry on a one-year trial basis.
For Norwegian traveler Øystein Sporsheim, this means his family would no longer need to make two round-trip visits to the Chinese embassy in Oslo to apply for a tourist visa, a time-consuming and costly process with two children in tow. 'They don't very often open, so it was much harder' he said.
'The new visa policies are 100% beneficial to us,' said Jenny Zhao, a managing director of WildChina, which specializes in boutique and luxury routes for international travelers. She said business is up 50% compared with before the pandemic.
While the U.S. remains their largest source market, accounting for around 30% of their current business, European travelers now make up 15–20% of their clients, a sharp increase from less than 5% before 2019, according to Zhao. 'We're quite optimistic' Zhao said, 'we hope these benefits will continue.'
Trip.com Group, a Shanghai-based online travel agency, said the visa-free policy has significantly boosted tourism. Air, hotel and other bookings on their website for travel to China doubled in the first three months of this year compared with the same period last year, with 75% of the visitors from visa-free regions.
No major African country is eligible for visa-free entry, despite the continent's relatively close ties with China.
Those from 10 countries not in the visa-free scheme have another option: entering China for up to 10 days if they depart for a different country than the one they came from. The policy is limited to 60 ports of entry, according to the country's National Immigration Administration.
The transit policy applies to 55 countries, but most are also on the 30-day visa-free entry list. It does offer a more restrictive option for citizens of the 10 countries that aren't: the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Sweden, Russia, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Indonesia, Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
Aside from the U.K., Sweden is the only other high-income European country that didn't make the 30-day list. Ties with China have frayed since the ruling Chinese Communist Party sentenced a Swedish book seller, Gui Minhai, to prison for 10 years in 2020. Gui disappeared in 2015 from his seaside home in Thailand but turned up months later in police custody in mainland China.
Ting writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Ken Moritsugu and video producer Liu Zheng in Beijing contributed to this report.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
3 hours ago
- Business Insider
I'm an Emirates flight attendant. My company moved me to Dubai and gives me lots of perks.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Serena Willams, a 31-year-old flight attendant. The following has been edited for length and clarity. On my first flight, I remember feeling nervous as I looked down at all those passengers staring at me doing the safety demo. I had to tell myself: "I can do this." When I fastened my seatbelt and secured the cabin, I was struck by the sense of responsibility that if I didn't do my job properly people could get hurt. Once the flight was over, I absolutely loved it. After leaving school, I trained in beauty therapy. I felt it was a skill you could take anywhere. But as soon as I'd finished, I applied to work for easyJet and went straight into flying. I knew someone who had been cabin crew, and I'd always see them travelling. I wanted to explore the world. I applied to work as cabin crew with easyJet based out of London Gatwick around 2013. After two years, I wanted to experience the real deal of cabin crew, with longer layovers, so I applied to work for British Airways, where I stayed for five years. I worked for an independent private jet company before joining Emirates and relocating to Dubai in 2022. There's so much more to cabin crew than serving food and drinks. We're responsible for the security search of the aircraft, the safety equipment checks. There are often medical situations on board, and we have to know what to do. Beauty therapist to flight attendant As with other jobs, you submit your CV online, but airline companies have different requirements before you're invited for an interview. With easyJet, there were maths and English tests and customer service-based scenario questions. There's a height test to make sure you're tall enough to reach the overhead lockers, and you must be able to swim. Once I got the role, I completed training, which included treading water, going down the slide, and pulling yourself up into the slide raft from the water. At first, the hours were a massive adjustment. In beauty, you tend to work a typical 9-to-5. Whereas at easyJet, I was setting an alarm for 2 or 3 a.m. Your schedule can vary so much as a flight attendant. On average, I get about 10 days off a month, and we also have rest days before a flight. My background in beauty has come in handy. At Emirates, it's a requirement to wear basic makeup, along with the signature red lips — that's part of the uniform. Moving to Dubai for work I moved to Dubai in 2022. At first, I lived in accommodation provided by Emirates, which also sponsors our work permits and visas. Now, I live in my own apartment, which I can afford thanks to Emirates' live-out allowance. There are lots of perks, including a tax-free salary, transport to work, and a platinum card which gives us free access to beach clubs and discounts at shops and restaurants here: it might be 25% off the bill, free entry to a nice hotel, or 10% off in a clothes store. I'd been to Dubai on holiday and enjoyed it, but since I've moved, I've found that it is my No. 1 city: it's 24/7, there are always things to do and places to explore, and there's a big expat community. It's the perfect base for me. It can be tough being away from home, but on the flip side, my family is spread out, so I feel like it's enabled me to stay connected to them. We're allocated routes on our rota, but we can bid for specific flights or swap among crew as long as it fits the allocated times. I'll switch to UK flights to see my mum, or Sweden in the summer to catch up with my brother. The Australia flight to Sydney allows me to see friends and cousins over there. Meeting new people is my favorite part of the job For me, though, the best part of the job is meeting different people from all over the world. I've visited more than 50 countries, and I still haven't flown to all the destinations that we fly to. It opens your mind and your horizons. You never know who you're flying with — every day I go to work, I meet new people, do new things. You learn how to speak to all types of people and to be patient. I treat my passengers as if they were my mum or my friend. Years ago, I had a situation where a woman was projectile vomiting and unexpectedly had a fit. She came round, but all her clothes were in the hold. My mum had given me a tracksuit for Christmas, which was in my overnight bag, so I gave her my clothes. Later, she wrote in to thank me. These kinds of experiences, when you help or connect with someone, stand out to me. Initially, I thought I'd do this for a year, but here I am 12 years later, still flying. It still has that novelty because every day is different. Sometimes, when I look out of the window and we're flying over the mountains, I think, "This really is amazing."
Business Insider
a day ago
- Business Insider
I moved to Italy for my dream job and then lost it. Now that I'm back in the US, I'm even more motivated to return.
I never really thought I'd live in Italy. Sure, my dad was from there, but we weren't one of those families who had dual citizenship or spent summers on the Amalfi Coast. I didn't even speak Italian — but one opportunity changed everything. Just over a month after my dad died, I'd been let go from my job and was cold-emailing brands I admired when I landed a marketing role with an Italian beauty company. The role offered the chance to relocate to Italy, and I thought, why not? What once felt like a distant dream suddenly became real, as if my dad was guiding me toward this new chapter in my life. I slowly built a life in Italy, but just when I thought I had it all figured out, I lost it I moved in July 2022 and spent my first few weeks in Pescara, Italy, (where the company's offices were) getting to know my team and easing into the slower pace of life. On hot afternoons, we'd sometimes log off early and head to the beach. It was a kind of freedom and balance I'd never experienced at work before. I didn't feel pressured to always be online, there weren't any expectations to work weekends, and my creativity felt fed by my real life. At the end of the month, I relocated to Rome. With little to no in-office requirements, the city seemed like a great fit for me because of its public transportation system, international connections, and lively pace. Plus, if I needed to get to Pescara, I was only a two-hour bus ride away. Living in Rome felt easy and natural, like I'd lived there in another life. I woke up early to grab treats from my local bar (what the Italians call cafés), made friends with my neighbors, and learned where the non-touristy spots were. I also got used to the nuances of daily life in the city, from public transportation strikes to a lack of strong air conditioning. I visited my dad's family in Lombardy and Calabria, too. It was incredibly grounding to connect with relatives who spoke little English but welcomed me anyway. I felt closer to him than ever before, but it was hard not to be upset with the fact that he'd never taught me the language. Though I'd made an effort to practice speaking with my family, took dozens of classes, and subscribed to Babbel, there were still plenty of moments when I struggled to keep up with the pace of conversations at work or sound competent at the post office. It was intimidating, but over time, I pushed through the discomfort, asked questions when I was unsure, and slowly started to pick up more of the language. Day by day, I built a quiet resilience and confidence I hadn't expected. Then, just when I thought I'd found my groove — I had gotten my residency permit, was seemingly thriving at work, and was settling into a new friend group — I learned my contract wasn't being renewed because of budget cuts, and I wasn't the only one affected. Without a job, dual citizenship (my dad completely naturalized as a US citizen, preventing me from gaining automatic Italian citizenship), or a financial safety net, I couldn't stay. So, I had to pack up the life I'd built and return to the US in January 2025. For now, I'm back in the States and grieving the version of myself I'd found abroad Now, I'm in New York City, working full time, and freelancing as I try to hold onto the version of myself I'd become in Italy — the person who understood that life doesn't always need to be rushed or optimized. But it's not easy. Returning here has felt like starting over and trying to find my footing in a place where everyone seems to be running at a relentless pace. So, I'm trying my best to make it back to Italy on my own terms. I'm working hard to secure my status as a dual citizen, but I'm not sure how long it will take. Through it all, though, I'm proud of myself for reconnecting with my heritage and chasing this dream.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Delta hits record profits and airline stocks bounce as passengers trade economy for luxury
Delta Air Lines posted record revenues for the second quarter on Thursday. Falling demand for economy has led to capacity cuts, but premium seats continue to boom. Shares in Delta, United, and American have climbed sharply since major declines at the start of 2025. Airlines' fortunes are starting to turn around thanks to a boom in premium travel. Economic uncertainty and tariff announcements gave the industry a rocky start to the year, with Delta Air Lines losing a third of its share price by April. "If you look at any measure of consumer confidence, it certainly took a big dip in the early part of the year and then again in April after the Liberation Day announcements were made," CEO Ed Bastian said during a Thursday call to discuss its Q2 earnings. Airline stocks are strongly correlated with the economy at large because travel is one of the first things people cut when they have less spending money. However, Thursday also saw Delta post bumper earnings. Its revenue of $15.5 billion was a record for the second quarter, with pre-tax profits of $1.8 billion. The stock rose 12% after beating Wall Street estimates, extending a gain of more than one-third over the past three months, having plummeted in the first few months of 2025. This pattern is reflected by Delta's main competitors, United and American, which both saw shares surge on Thursday. This embedded content is not available in your region. Bookings for economy seats and from Europeans have suffered, but that fall has been offset by a rise in demand for premium. Delta's second-quarter results showed passenger revenue for the main cabin fell 5% compared to last year, but for premium products, this rose 5%. Since the pandemic, travelers have been more interested in shelling out for upgraded experiences. Bastian said on the call that Delta's target consumer has a household income of at least $100,000, representing about 40% of the US. "That cohort has accumulated a significant amount of wealth in the post-COVID era," he added. Meanwhile, airlines have slashed capacity for domestic flights. After rising about four percentage points through April, it's now expected to be down by 1% industry-wide come September, said Delta president Glen Hauenstein. "I've been in this business quite a long time, and I've really never seen that amount of capacity come out in a non-recessionary environment," he added. "So I think this is a really good indication that the industry is doing what it needs to do to restore profitability." On the other hand, Delta's transatlantic capacity has grown, and revenues here rose 2% since last year's records. That's despite Europeans losing interest in visiting the US since Donald Trump's election prompted stricter immigration rules. "We're seeing a little bit of reduction of inbound coming from Europe into the US, but that's only 20% of our mix," Bastian told CNBC. "To the extent we have some reductions, we offset that with more Americans going in." He added that while the weaker dollar makes it more expensive for Americans to visit Europe, the exchange rate also makes Europeans visiting the US more valuable to Delta. "Overall, it's going to be a really strong summer for us in the transatlantic," he added. Plus, Bastian said he expects the summer peaks to be less dramatic, as heatwaves and overtourism protests could prompt more Americans to postpone their trips to later in the year. In all, Delta's results suggested that the worst of this year's volatility could be in the past. United is scheduled to announce its results next Thursday, followed by American the week after. Read the original article on Business Insider
