BEIJING - For the first time in three years, since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, China will allow the issuance of all categories of visas as of this Wednesday.
Following last month's declaration of victory over the virus by the authorities, this final cross-border control measure put in place to protect against COVID-19 has been lifted.
Insiders in the tourism sector do not anticipate a significant uptick in short-term tourism or economic growth. China's gross domestic product in 2019 was only 0.9% of what was generated by foreign tourism.
However, Beijing's decision to resume issuing tourist visas is part of a larger effort to normalize two-way travel between China and the rest of the world after withdrawing its travel warning for citizens in January.
Visa-free entry will once again be available in parts of China that did not require them before the pandemic, the foreign ministry announced on Tuesday. This will include cruise ships passing through Shanghai port as well as the southern tourist island of Hainan, a longtime favorite of Russians.
Guangdong, China's most prosperous province, will once again allow foreigners from Hong Kong and Macau to enter without a visa. This is great news for high-end hotels that cater to international business travelers.
According to Vaughn Barber, chairman of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in China, "the announcement that China will resume issuing nearly all types of visas for foreigners from tomorrow is positive for Australian businesses whose executives would like to travel here to visit their China-based teams, customers, and suppliers, as well as to explore new business opportunities in the mainland market.
Chinese events that are open to foreign visitors are gradually starting up again. Examples include the China Development Forum in Beijing later this month and the Shanghai Autoshow in April. The Asian Games, which are held every four years, will also be held in the eastern city of Hangzhou in September after being postponed the previous year due to China's COVID worries.
However, potential visitors might not show up in large numbers right away.
According to a global survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in September, Western democracies' mistrust of China has grown due to worries about human rights, Beijing's assertive foreign policy, and suspicions about the handling of COVID-19.
China is no longer a popular tourist destination, according to a China International Travel Services executive in Beijing who declined to be identified due to the delicate nature of the situation.
Commercially, foreigners' desire to organize events in China has decreased as a result of COVID because too many decisions here are influenced by politics, scaring them away.
In a further relaxation of controls on outbound tourism, China added another 40 countries to its list of those for which group tours are allowed, bringing the total number of countries to 60.
Japan, South Korea, Australia, and the United States are still absent from the list. As Washington and Beijing sparred over issues ranging from Russia and Ukraine to China's military presence in the South China Sea, relations between those nations grew closer.
"I don't know how enthusiastic institutional investors will be to do so, after all the drumbeat of scary news," said Duncan Clark, founder of BDA, a Beijing-based investment consultancy. "It's common to use tourist visas to come to China on business."
Just 115.7 million cross-border journeys took place in and out of China in 2022, of which 4.5 million were made by foreigners.
In contrast, China recorded 670 million total trips in 2019 prior to the implementation of COVID, of which 97.7 million were made by foreigners.