Popular tourist destinations in China for inbound tours include Shanghai; Beijing; Shenzhen and Guangzhou in Guangdong province; Chengdu, Sichuan province; Hangzhou, Zhejiang province; Qingdao, Shandong province; and Xiamen, Fujian province, Trip.com said.
"The expansion of the scope of visa-free policy to different countries, as well as strengthened efforts to improve payment services for foreign visitors, are expected to help promote a fast recovery in inbound tours," said Qin Jing, vice-president of Trip.com Group.
"People from developed European countries such as Switzerland, Belgium and Austria boast high recognition for visiting China, and the number of travelers from those countries is expected to see rapid growth with further resumption of international flights," Qin said.
Since China announced the visa-free policy on March 7, searches for China-related keywords from those countries have surged, with hotel-related keyword searches jumping more than threefold year-on-year from March 7 to Thursday, Trip.com found.
The six European countries have frequent business contacts with China. Trip.com said last year, business travel orders to China from those countries recovered to 90 percent of 2019 levels, and the number of orders has continued to grow rapidly this year.
Meanwhile, Hungary recently announced the issuance of long-term visas for Chinese business executives who visit the country for investment and cooperation.
The South Korean-owned automotive supplier, BC GEN Hungary Kft., has announced a new investment of HUF 21 billion, which will create 400 new jobs in Salgótarján. The announcement was made by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó in Budapest on Tuesday.
In recent years, China has pivoted its investment strategy in Central Asia, particularly in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, towards renewable energy projects. Notably, agreements were signed in 2023 for Chinese companies to build substantial solar photovoltaic plants in multiple Uzbek regions, representing a total of $4 bn in investment.
Japan welcomed a record 17.78 million foreign visitors in the first half of 2024, the country’s tourism agency has said, as the weak yen helped drive tourist numbers above pre-pandemic levels.