On November 22, the 2024 China International Travel Market (hereinafter referred to as “CITM”), hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, opened at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai). With the theme of “Hello! China”, the three-day event covers an exhibition area of approximately 53,000 square meters and features six themed exhibition zones. The Shanghai booth debuted a dedicated section for Shanghai International Medical Tourism.
According to the official WeChat account “Consular Express” of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the same day, to further facilitate the exchange of personnel between China and foreign countries, China has decided to expand the scope of visa-free countries. From November 30, 2024, to December 31, 2025, a visa-free policy will be piloted for holders of ordinary passports from Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, and Japan. China has also decided to optimize its entry policies simultaneously, including adding exchange visits as a reason for visa-free entry and extending the visa-free stay period from the current 15 days to 30 days.
The announcement indicates that, starting from November 30, 2024, holders of ordinary passports from 38 visa-free countries, including the aforementioned nine, can enter China without a visa for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, exchange visits, and transit stays not exceeding 30 days.
Qin Jing, Vice President of Ctrip Group, stated that from January to October this year, inbound tourism orders on the Ctrip platform increased by approximately two times compared to the same period last year. Policies such as the 144-hour visa-free transit and unilateral visa-free policies are important drivers for the growth of inbound tourism in China. With the addition of these nine countries, the number of countries for which China implements a unilateral visa-free policy has reached nearly 40. As of now, tourist orders from these countries account for over 30% of China’s overall inbound tourism orders. As the effects of the visa-free policy are unleashed, inbound tourism in China is expected to experience further growth.
According to Ctrip, since the beginning of this year, outbound tourism orders from Chinese tourists to Japan have increased by over 160% compared to the same period last year. Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka are popular destinations for Chinese tourists. Meanwhile, inbound tourism orders from Japanese tourists to China have also increased by 140% compared to the same period last year. Besides first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, Dalian, Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Qingdao are also favorite destinations for Japanese tourists in China.
Zhou Weihong, Deputy General Manager of Spring Airlines Tourism, expressed that Shanghai’s cultural and tourism resources attract visitors from countries such as Japan at multiple levels and keep pace with the times. Both the elderly and young people can find their reasons to love Shanghai. Amidst the comprehensive integration of business, travel, culture, and sports, new cultural and tourism resources in Shanghai continue to emerge. The Expo Culture Park, Zhangyuan, and Jinchao 8 Lane are all new attractions that will be highly appealing to inbound tourists.
(Photographed by Zou Juan, a reporter from The Paper, at the CITM site)
On November 22, the CITM opened at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai). With the theme of “Hello! China”, the three-day event covers an exhibition area of approximately 53,000 square meters and features six themed exhibition zones. It attracted over 1,000 international exhibitors and nearly 600 overseas travel agents from more than 80 countries and regions to participate. Over 600 offline professional business negotiations were conducted. Overseas travel agents will also visit some provinces and cities to inspect high-quality inbound tourism resources and products, conducting market research to create more premium inbound tourism routes.
During the fair, a series of activities were held, including the “Hello! China” promotion, the promotion of China’s inbound tourism policies, professional negotiations, and the promotion of local culture and tourism. The Shanghai booth at the CITM covered an area of 540 square meters, featuring 27 exhibitors, including district cultural and tourism bureaus, travel agencies, attractions, hotels, and other related cultural and tourism institutions and enterprises. Moreover, the Shanghai booth debuted a dedicated section for Shanghai International Medical Tourism, where more than 20 high-level hospitals showcased Shanghai’s abundant high-quality medical resources and service levels.