China’s visa-free policies paying off as cruise traffic rises 60%, offers consumption boost

Cruise passenger traffic in the first half stood at nearly 500,000, recovering to more than half of the same period in 2019, the ministry added.

China has resumed operations for its eight cruise ships from seven companies after lifting its coronavirus-related curbs last year, operating routes from Chinese ports to Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Additionally, more than 10 foreign-flagged cruise ships have visited ports in China.

“The accelerated recovery of the cruise economy has provided strong support for further expanding domestic demand and boosting consumption,” said ministry official Li Xuelian.

The ministry has also pledged to accelerate construction of cruise terminals.

02:19

China’s first home-grown large cruise ship set to begin sea trials

China’s first home-grown large cruise ship set to begin sea trials

As a result, 14.64 million inbound trips were made by foreigners in the first half of the year, up 152.7 per cent year on year, after the measures were introduced in January, the National Immigration Administration said last week.

Among them, 8.5 million people entered visa-free, accounting for 52 per cent of the total, registering a 190.1 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

Starting from Monday, foreigners may also enter China via Zhengzhou, Henan’s provincial capital, but they are only allowed to stay within the province.

They have also been granted visa-free access to eight more cities or prefecture-level areas in Yunnan.

Previously, foreign visitors could enter Yunnan for 144 hours without a visa through Kunming Changshui International Airport, but their travel was limited to the provincial capital of Kunming.