To strengthen its economy after the losses incurred during the Covid period, China is also giving special importance to tourism. In this episode, it has recently announced to allow citizens of 9 more countries to enter the country without visa.
According to a report, from November 30, 2024, travelers from Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia and Japan will be able to reach China without visa. After this order of the Chinese government, the number of countries for visa-free travel will increase to 38. Before the Covid epidemic, only three countries in the world had such facility in China. That too was stopped after the spread of the corona virus.
Now the maximum time limit for stay will be 30 days.
The report quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian as saying that the maximum time limit for staying in China without visa has also been increased from 15 days to 30 days. These steps are being seen in the context of China’s efforts to boost tourism revenue and bring its struggling economy back on track. Travel restrictions imposed during the Covid pandemic were lifted much later in China than in many other countries. Gradually, China has started restoring visa-free travel from pre-Covid countries.
In July 2023, China restored visa-free travel for Brunei and Singapore. After this, from December 1, 2023, China also extended this facility to citizens of six more countries – Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia.
49 lakh people travelled visa-free this year
According to the data of the Consular Service of the Ministry of External Affairs, between July and September this year, out of 82 lakh foreigners, 49 lakh entered China without a visa. Given its popularity, China seems to be expanding this facility in several phases. The other side of this is that during this time some countries like Thailand have also provided visa-free travel to Chinese citizens. Such countries want that like before the Corona epidemic, many Chinese tourists should come to their country and spend money there and help in the growth of their tourism sector.
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