China Slashes Visa Fees for Thailand, Japan, Mexico, Vietnam, Philippines & Several Other Countries Until End of 2024

From December 11, 2023, to December 31, 2024, China has reduced visa fees by 25 per cent for visitors from various nations, such as Thailand, Japan, Mexico, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

The move has been taken in a bid of the authorities to stimulate the country’s economy, including efforts to enhance inbound travel from international tourists and business professionals, VisaGuide.World reports.

As local media reports, amid a slow recovery in the world’s second-largest economy, the move represents the latest in a series of measures China has implemented recently to boost inbound travel by foreign tourists and businesspeople.

Recently, China has announced its intention to provide visa-free access to individuals holding ordinary passports from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia.

This initiative was launched on December 1, 2023, and will run until November 30, 2024. Under this one-year trial program, citizens from the designated countries will have the privilege of visa-free entry into China for stays of up to 15 days, allowing for activities such as business, tourism, family visits, and transit.

In the past few months, China has undertaken various measures, such as reinstating international flight routes, to rejuvenate its tourism sector. These efforts come in response to three years of stringent COVID-19 measures that largely restricted its borders, marking a strategic move to revitalize the country’s engagement with the outside world.

As a result, in October of this year, China expanded its visa-free transit policy to encompass 54 countries, extending this privilege to include citizens of Norway. In a significant move in August, Chinese authorities decided to lift the ban on tours to more than 70 locations, resulting in a surge in travel and airline stocks across Asia.

China’s Culture and Tourism Ministry also revealed the resumption of group tours to numerous destinations in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Africa, and North America. Noteworthy travel destinations in the Asia-Pacific region include Japan, Australia, and South Korea. Other destinations on the list span across regions, including Qatar, Lebanon, Oman, the United Kingdom, Finland, Germany, Sweden, and Israel, among others.

Moreover, China’s travel and tourism sector is expected to make a significant contribution of US$1.48 trillion to the national economy by the end of 2023, implying a remarkable growth of over 150 percent compared to 2022, when the sector’s contribution was 583 billion dollars.

The previous analysis of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) showed that the sector is anticipated to add an astounding 4 trillion dollars in value to China’s economy, showcasing growth that surpasses the global compound annual growth rate (CAGR) by nearly a 2:1 ratio.