According to the statistics of the National Immigration Administration, in the first seven months of this year, the number of foreigners entering the country at various ports reached 17.254 million, an increase of 129.9%. More and more international friends joined the army of “China Travel to China”.
The popularity of “China Travel” cannot be separated from the strong support of national policies. More than 110 policies and measures to facilitate foreign nationals coming to China, and continuously improved visa-free entry, transit and port visa policies have added fuel to the growing inbound tourism market. On August 19, Xishuangbanna Prefecture Culture and Tourism Bureau issued a service procurement inquiry notice on the 2024 Xishuangbanna Foreign Tourists Travel Guide Manual project. The launch of the popular “China Travel China” guidebook for foreign tourists has once again upgraded the tourist experience and let us see the concrete measures taken by various places to promote the development of inbound tourism.
It is understood that this manual will provide travel guides for Chinese and foreign tourists in the form of bilingual English, requiring senior translators to translate the content of the manual into English to ensure the authenticity and fluency of the language, so as to provide more convenient guidance for foreign tourists.
In fact, the launch of the guidebook for foreign tourists is not the first time. As early as July 2, the Foreign Affairs Office of Beijing Chaoyang District People’s Government officially released version 1.0 of Chaoyang Handbook for Foreigners. This bilingual manual shows the charm and characteristics of Chaoyang District in the form of pictures and pictures, and covers all kinds of services required by foreigners living in Chaoyang District. Including entry registration, commonly used apps, payment methods, transportation, communication accommodation, medical education, etc., to further enhance the convenience of foreign friends in Chaoyang District. According to the staff of the Foreign Affairs Office, the brochure also recommends many scenic spots worth visiting and local cultural activities, so that foreign friends can deeply experience China’s traditional culture and modern urban customs.
On April 28, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, published a bilingual Chinese and English version of the Guide for international friends to visit Shenzhen. Foreigners can scan the screen of key cultural and tourism places such as airports, ports, scenic spots and hotels to access the electronic page of the Guide. The foldable version of the Guide is also distributed throughout the city to provide practical, convenient and intimate information services and guidelines for expatriates visiting Shenzhen.
Under the favorable situation of various policies, China’s inbound tourism market has heated up rapidly, and various places have taken advantage of the trend to launch various exclusive services for foreign tourists. From the launch of the Travel brochure for foreign tourists, it is not difficult to see that the rise of the inbound tourism market and the Internet explosion of “China Travel China” seem to be “rapid” and “sudden”, but in fact, everything can be traced.
Why has inbound tourism, which has always been tepid, suddenly exploded? What are the “blocking points” that have hindered the development of inbound tourism? Have these “blocking points” been cleared now?
“The distant mountains call me”, China’s vast land of 9.6 million square kilometers has never been short of beautiful scenery and legendary stories. in recent years, the “Made in China” trend has swept the world, and the high-rise buildings and winding railways have vividly demonstrated the “China speed”. However, the Chinese story has not been spread out of China, and China’s speed has not been seen by the world.
First of all, China’s cultural tourism publicity how to really go abroad is a big “blocking point” that has been plaguing the inbound tourism market. Most foreign friends’ impression of China is still stuck in decades ago, and their understanding of China is only “Chinese Kongfu”. If you do not understand, you will not yearn, or even harbor prejudice.
At the critical moment, the hot topic of “China Travel to China” on the Internet has injected new vitality into the development of the inbound tourism market. If it is useless for the Chinese people who are the “hosts” to say good things, then let the “guests” convey China’s good things by themselves with the help of the Internet. When a group of unfamiliar foreigners “China Travel to China”, a word can not be conveyed “city is not city?” The precise stamping of the Internet traffic password has attracted the attention of many netizens at home and abroad. As many overseas travel bloggers come to China to experience Chinese culture for themselves, a series of travel experience videos have been posted on the Internet and spread widely. Not only foreign netizens love to watch, but Chinese netizens are also “chasing more”, which seems to be a “traffic password”. In the videos of foreign netizens, the real China is seen, and the vast and beautiful rivers and mountains of the motherland and the thick history and culture are also shown one by one. More foreign netizens want to visit China in person, feel the charm of traditional culture, and witness the soaring ancient East.
Secondly, the cumbersome visa procedures are another “blocking point” that hinders the development of the inbound tourism market. In fact, applying for a Chinese travel visa is not difficult, but relatively tedious. Previously, many foreign tourists expressed their opinions and suggestions on visa applications for tourism to China, including high visa application fees, long visa application process, complicated application materials and other problems. At the same time, for most foreign tourists, visa-free travel is available to most countries in the world, which requires an extra incentive for them to consider visa-free travel to China.
In response to this problem, China’s entry facilitation measures, represented by the continuous expansion of the “visa-free circle of friends”, are being rolled out and continuously optimized. At a series of themed press conferences on “Promoting high-quality development” held by The State Council Information Office on August 19, the relevant person in charge of the National Immigration Administration said that as of now, the application scope of the 144-hour transit visa-free policy has increased to 37 ports and 54 countries. At the same time, according to the relevant regulations issued by various localities, the application materials for visa documents for foreign nationals in China have also been simplified.
In addition to visa issues, the impact of inconvenient payment methods on travel and shopping has exacerbated the gap caused by language barriers. In recent years, the widespread use of electronic payment methods has replaced the use of cash in most venues, resulting in many venues often refuse to accept cash on the grounds that cash cannot be found. At the same time, foreign tourists are accustomed to using credit cards for payment, while the use of VISA and Master cards for foreign tourists in China is still very narrow. If you want to temporarily apply for electronic payment, you need to go to a domestic bank to apply for a bank card and then register and bind it with wechat and Alipay. The cumbersome process and high international roaming costs associated with mobile payments have discouraged many foreign tourists from trying.
