Polish citizens are the latest to benefit from China’s visa-free regime, which aims to boost tourism.
ANNOUNCEMENTChina has extended visa-free travel to Poland, Australia and New Zealand until the end of 2025.
Since early 2024, the scheme has been announced in stages, with another 11 European countries and Malaysia also gaining visa-free access. The aim is to encourage more people to visit China for business and tourism and promote exchanges between Chinese citizens and foreigners.
Citizens of Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland are among the European countries allowed to enter China without a visa until the end of next year. Polish citizens will join the list on July 1st.
The aim is to “facilitate the high-quality development of Chinese and foreign personnel exchanges and high-level opening up to the outside world,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a briefing on the initial announcement made in November.
Visa-free entry will be granted for up to 15 days under the trial program.
International travel to China has not yet recovered
strict from China pandemic measures, which included mandatory quarantines for all arrivals, discouraged many people from visiting the country for nearly three years. Restrictions were lifted early last year, but international travel has yet to recover. pre-pandemic levels.
Previously, China allowed entry to citizens of Brunei, Japan and Singapore without visas, but suspended this after the COVID-19 outbreak. It resumed visa-free entry to Brunei and Singapore in July, but did not do so to Japan.
In 2023, China recorded 35.5 million foreign arrivals and departures, according to immigration statistics. That compares with 97.7 million in all of 2019, the last year before the pandemic.
The government has been seeking foreign investment to help boost a sluggish economy, and some entrepreneurs have been coming to trade shows and meetings, including Tesla’s Elon Musk and Apple’s Tim Cook. Foreign tourists are still a rare sight compared to before the pandemic.
How else is China simplifying travel for Europeans?
Last year saw an increase in interest in China as a tourist destination among Europeans.
Online data travel agency Trip.com showed a 663 percent increase in global bookings from Europe to China compared to 2022, and a nearly 29 percent increase in 2019.
The United Kingdom and Germany were among the top 10 sources of travelers arriving in China worldwide, the data shows.
Shanghai remains the most popular destination among Europeans, with its attractive mix of modernity and tradition, followed by Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
Sanya, a coastal city on the southern tip of China’s Hainan Island, and Chengdu – the capital of southwest China’s Sichuan province – are emerging destinations.
Plus it’s new visa-free programs, the country is further encouraging inbound tourism, promoting cultural and historical attractions in partnership with Trip.com. China is also improving tourism infrastructure, investing in technology, travel guides and electronic payment systems.
