China Reopens Its Borders For Foreign Tourists Starting Today

Illustration of health checks during the COVID-19 pandemic in Shanghai Pudong International Airport, China. (Wikimedia Commons/Ptrump)

JAKARTA - China will reopen its borders to foreign tourists for the first time in three years since the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing all visa categories to be issued from Wednesday.

The removal of the last cross-border control measures imposed to prevent COVID-19 was carried out after authorities last month declared victory over the virus.

Tourism industry players do not expect the entry of large numbers of visitors in the short term, or a significant boost to the economy. In 2019, international tourism revenues contributed only 0.9 percent of China's gross domestic product.

However, the resumption of visa issuance for tourists marks a broader push by Beijing to normalize the two-way journey between China and the world, after withdrawing an appeal to citizens not to travel abroad in January.

Regions in China that do not require visas before the pandemic will again be visa-free, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday. It will include Hainan's tourist island in the south, which is a favorite destination among Russian citizens, as well as cruise ships passing through the Shanghai port.

Free visas for foreigners from Hong Kong and Macau to China's most prosperous province, Guangdong, will also continue, the advantages especially for high-end hotels popular among international business travelers.

"The announcement that China will again issue almost all types of visas for foreigners starting tomorrow is a positive thing for Australian business executives who wish to travel here to visit their China-based team, customers, and suppliers, as well as to explore new business opportunities in mainland China's market,"

A number of agendas in China that are open to foreign visitors, such as the Chinese Development Forum in Beijing later this month and the Shanghai Autoshow in April, are gradually continuing. Asian Games held every four years will also take place in Hangzhou City in eastern China in September, after being postponed last year due to concerns about COVID-19 in China.

However, potential visitors may not come immediately.

"In terms of tourism, China is no longer the main destination," said an executive at China International Travel Services in Beijing, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

"Commercially, the desire of foreigners to hold events in China has also decreased after COVID, because there are too many things here that are influenced by politics that scare them," he continued.

In further easing of controls on outbound tourism, China added 40 more countries to the list of countries allowed for group tours, bringing the total number of countries to 60 countries.

However, the list still does not include Japan, South Korea, Australia, and the United States. Relations between these countries grew closer, when Washington faced Beijing on various issues, from Russia and Ukraine to China's military presence in the South China Sea.

"Using tourist visas to come to China on business matters is common, but I don't know how much enthusiasm institutional investors have for doing it, after all this scary news," said Duncan Clark, founder of BDA, Beijing-based investment consultant.

It is known, China only recorded 115.7 million cross-border trips made in and out of China, with the number of foreigners around 4.5 million by 2022.

In contrast, China recorded 670 million trips in total in 2019 before the arrival of COVID, with the number of foreigners reaching 97.7 million.