The numbers of visitors from the 12 countries that enjoy an extended 15-day visa-exemption policy of China posted the fastest growth compared with other visitor groups, said a researcher from the China Tourism Academy on Sunday.
Data from China's Immigration Administration showed that in the first quarter of this year, 466,000 foreigner visas were issued, and nearly two million foreign nationals entered China without visas.

"I'm staying 30 days, one month, full visa duration. I'm from the Netherlands," said a visitor.
Since the beginning of 2023, China has offered visa-free entry to more countries and continued to optimize its visa-free policies.
Among the new initiatives targeting inbound travelers are relaxed conditions for overseas visitors applying for port visa, border inspection exemptions for travelers in 24-hour direct transit, and easier processes for visa extensions and renewals.

Earlier this month, China announced that it will extend its 15-day visa-exemption policy for visitors from 12 countries including France, German, and Italy to December 2025, allowing the countries' ordinary passport holders to enter and stay in China for business, tourism, family visit and transit purposes.

"The first fact is that the number of visitors from Hong Kong and Macao, the traditional tourism markets, have recovered to the pre-pandemic level of 2019. The second fact is that the number of visitors from the Belt and Road countries has been growing rapidly. One thing that we think is particularly noteworthy is that the number of visitors from 12 countries enjoying visa-exemption policy posted the fastest growth. The figure increased by over 50 percent in the first quarter of this year compared with the last quarter of 2023. We also noticed that more younger visitors are coming from these countries," said Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, a data center of China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

To date, 12 countries have implemented unilateral visa exemptions for Chinese travelers, 23 countries have implemented mutual visa exemptions, and more than 150 countries have implemented mutual visa exemptions for specific passport holders.