China’s Visa Facilitation Policies Boost Inbound Tourism and Consumption

In recent years, China has continuously enhanced its visa facilitation policies, which have played a positive role in promoting inbound tourism and opened up new development space for the consumer market. During the national two sessions, relevant proposals were put forward to guide and encourage the continuous improvement of the inbound tourism development environment through policy innovation.

At present, China has implemented a unilateral visa-free policy for 50 countries and a 240-hour transit visa-free policy for 55 countries. These policies have achieved remarkable results. Data shows that in 2025, 30.08 million foreigners entered China visa-free, a year-on-year increase of 49.5%.

In addition to visa-free policies, more convenient and fast payment methods, various consumption promotion measures and the "tax refund for departure" policy have transformed "Go China" into "Shop in China", further boosting the development of China’s consumer market. The "Shop in China" initiative has become an important part of promoting consumption, attracting more foreign visitors to spend in China.

Against the backdrop of China’s active participation in global governance, deepening mutually beneficial cooperation and transforming old and new drivers of economic development, it is necessary to adopt a more proactive opening-up stance on the basis of existing achievements. For the consumer market, further opening-up helps attract more young consumer groups and cultivate a long-term market. Meanwhile, the development of inbound tourism can promote the development of China’s service trade and further optimize its structure.

To further promote the development of inbound tourism, specific suggestions have been put forward. Firstly, simplify the conditions for the 240-hour transit visa-free policy, and add more railway, highway and waterway ports connecting China with neighboring countries in addition to air ports, making cross-border travel more convenient.

Secondly, strengthen the overseas promotion of visa facilitation policies to help more foreigners understand the convenience of China’s visa services. In particular, targeted publicity should be carried out for overseas young groups through various channels to maximize the effectiveness of visa-free policies. This is in line with the trend that young overseas visitors have become an important part of inbound tourism, with their demand for in-depth cultural and life experiences increasing.

The continuous optimization of visa facilitation policies and the improvement of the inbound tourism environment not only demonstrate China’s open attitude to the world, but also inject strong momentum into the development of the consumer market and service trade, laying a solid foundation for sustained economic development.