Trending upwards: Visitors take photographs in front of Saint Sophia’s Church in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province. The number of travel product orders from some European countries nearly doubled year-on-year, illustrating the pick up in recovery. — Bloomberg
BEIJING: China has seen a growing number of orders for inbound tours from Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg following the implementation of a visa-free policy for these countries that started March 14, industry players say.
China’s inbound tourism market is expected to recover rapidly this year, they said.
Ordinary passport holders from these six European countries can enter China visa-free for business, tourism, family visits or transit for up to 15 days through Nov 30 this year, according to the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
The number of travel product orders to China from the six countries nearly doubled year-on-year and grew by about 40% from the same period in 2019, or before the onset of the Covid pandemic, according to Trip.com Group, China’s largest online travel agency.
Among the six countries, the number of travel product orders to China made by visitors from Switzerland, Belgium and Hungary more than tripled year-on-year.
Popular tourist destinations in China for inbound tours include Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou in Guangdong province, Chengdu, Sichuan province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Qingdao, Shandong province and Xiamen, Fujian province, Trip.com said.
“The expansion of the scope of visa-free policy to different countries, as well as strengthened efforts to improve payment services for foreign visitors, are expected to help promote a fast recovery in inbound tours,” said Qin Jing, vice-president of Trip.com Group.
“The numbers of travellers from developed European countries such as Switzerland, Belgium and Austria is expected to rapid grow with the further resumption of international flights,” Qin said.
Fuelled by the recovery of inbound tourism, multiple travel agencies in China have expanded their inbound tourism products.
Spring Tour Travel Agency said inbound visitors have new demands, and domestic travel agencies should introduce more personalised and tailored products to cater to an increasingly diversified segment.
Since China announced the visa-free policy on March 7, searches for China-related keywords from those countries have surged, with hotel-related searches jumping more than threefold year-on-year from March 7 through last Thursday, Trip.com found.
The six European countries also have frequent business contacts with China.
Trip.com said last year, business travel orders to China from those countries recovered to 90% of 2019 levels, and the number of orders has continued to grow rapidly this year.
Meanwhile, Hungary recently announced the issuance of long-term visas for Chinese business executives who visit the country for investment and cooperation.
Between Jan 1 and March 6, the number of flights connecting China with Hungary and Luxembourg exceeded 2019 levels.
During the same period, the number of flights connecting China and Switzerland, as well as China and Belgium, recovered between 60% and 90% of 2019 levels, according to Flight Master, a travel services platform in China.
Switzerland, Hungary and Austria operate direct flights to China, and popular routes include flights connecting Beijing and Geneva, and Shanghai and Zurich.
The average flight prices from the six European countries to China until April have climbed by about 30% to 60% over the same period of 2019, Trip.com found.
The online travel agency said it will actively leverage its products and services overseas, optimise its ability to serve consumers outside of China and thus, encourage more foreigners to visit China.
In late November, China announced a 15-day visa-free policy for short-term stays of citizens from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia, and the number of inbound foreign visitors has grown steadily since.
In 2023, China’s inbound tourism market recovered between 20% and 30% of 2019 levels.
Following the announcements of favourable visa-free policies to multiple countries, this year’s inbound tourism market is expected to rebound to 70% to 80% of 2019 levels, said CYTS Tours Holding Co in Beijing. — China Daily/ANN
