China allows visa-free entry for 6 countries , Singapore most favored outbound destination
Travel Biz News —-
China has decided to implement a unilateral visa-free policy for ordinary passport holders from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia on a trial basis .
From December 1, 2023 to November 30, 2024, holders of ordinary passports from the above six countries may enter China visa-free for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends and transit for no more than 15 days, Xinhua reported quoting a statement published on the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s social media account.
People from these six countries who do not meet the visa exemption requirements still need to obtain a visa before entering China, the statement said.
It further added that this policy will help promote people to people exchanges, and serve high-quality development and high-level opening-up.
Meanwhile , Singapore emerges as most favorite destination of Chinese tourists.
Singapore has surpassed Thailand to become the most favored outbound destination of Chinese tourists, in the latest survey by Singapore-based digital marketing firm China Trading Desk.
17.5% of Chinese respondents plan to travel to Singapore, followed by Europe (14.3%) and South Korea (11.4%), according to the quarterly travel sentiment survey that polled over 10,000 Chinese residents on their upcoming international travel plans published this month.
Malaysia is the fourth most popular destination of Chinese tourists, followed by Australia.
Thailand, which used to be the most popular destination for Chinese tourists in the first quarterly survey, plummeted to sixth place, with just 10% of respondents selecting it as one of their future destinations, Vnexpress .net reports.
Thailand expects 3.4-3.5 million visitors from China this year, which is below its target, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said ,despite rolling out a visa-free program to attract Chinese tourists.
About 3.01 million Chinese tourists have visited the country so far this year, it said. China has been a key source market for Thailand’s vital tourism industry, with 11 million Chinese visitors in pre-pandemic 2019, accounting for more than a quarter of all arrivals that year , Reuters reported.
Photo : Chinese tourists pose for photos with the Merlion statue at Marina Bay in Singapore ( Photo by Reuters )
26 November 2023
