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Extension of China's Visa-Free Transit Policy Boosts Inbound Tourism in Shandong

Source：Haibao News 11-15-2024 09:00:00

To further facilitate exchanges between Chinese and foreign personnel, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that starting from November 8, 2024, a trial visa-free policy would be implemented for ordinary passport holders from nine more countries, such as the Republic of Korea (ROK). On the first day of the trial visa-free policy, both Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport and Qingdao Cruise Home Port welcomed ROK tourists entering without a visa.

In the first three quarters of this year, the Shandong General Station of Exit-Entry Frontier Inspection processed over 388,000 foreign travelers, marking a 144.8% increase year on year. Among them, 54.1% entered for sightseeing purposes.

Since this year, the 144-hour visa-free transit policy, along with the gradual resumption of international flights, has significantly facilitated foreign tourists traveling to China. To attract more foreign tourists, Shandong has enacted several policies and measures aimed at promoting high-quality development in inbound tourism. These include enhancing international communication service accessibility, increasing the internationalization of tourism consulting services, improving the ease of inbound payments, upgrading hotel reception capacity for inbound guests, and optimizing departure tax refund services, all to continuously enhance the experience and satisfaction of inbound tourists.