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- In January this year alone, the number of overseas tourists entering Shanghai from Shanghai ports and the number of overseas tourists entering Shanghai from other ports in my country reached 358,300, of which foreign tourists accounted for 358,300. 71%. The data transmitted online is far from the truth.
- Up to now, China has reached comprehensive mutual visa exemption agreements with 23 countries and regions around the world. According to the agreement, citizens of the two signatory countries or regions can stay in the other country or region without a visa for 30 days with valid passports or documents. However, if the license holder needs to stay for more than 30 days, he must apply for residence procedures locally as required. People from target countries who have not signed a mutual visa exemption agreement or China has implemented a unilateral visa exemption policy will not be able to enjoy the visa exemption policy and still need to go through relevant procedures.
Background of the incident
Recently, news has circulated on social platforms that Shanghai has introduced new regulations, "Foreigners are exempted from visas to Shanghai for 30 days, which can be extended." It was also stated that the number of arrivals in January and February 2024 will only be 1 million, compared with 3.7 million in 2019. Among them, residents of Hong Kong and Macao, China accounted for 80% of the 10,000 people, while only 2,000 people entered the country with foreign passports, including foreign Chinese.
Net legend law screenshot
Mingcha
The number of arrivals in the first two months of 2024 is only 10,000 ?
Although the online news did not clearly state the scope of "10,000 passengers", according to data released by the Shanghai Bureau of Statistics on February 28, in January this year alone, the number of overseas tourists entering from Shanghai port and from other ports in my country The number of overseas tourists entering Shanghai reached 358,300, an increase of 503.9% compared with the same month last year. Among them, there were 255,100 foreign tourists, accounting for about 71% of the total number of international tourist arrivals, 34,800 compatriots from Hong Kong and Macao, and 68,400 compatriots from Taiwan. As of press time on March 6, relevant data for February had not yet been released.
In January 2024, screenshots of statistical data on the number of overseas tourists entering Shanghai from Shanghai ports and the number of overseas tourists entering Shanghai from other ports in my country. Image source: Shanghai Statistics Bureau.
At the same time, the latest statistics from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China show that during this year’s Spring Festival (February 10 to February 17), there were approximately 6.83 million inbound and outbound tourists, including approximately 3.6 million outbound tourists and 3.23 million inbound tourists. , both close to the same period in 2019. According to relevant data from the department, the number of foreign tourists entering the country in 2019 was 145 million.
Screenshot of relevant information from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of my country.
In addition, according to the "2024 Year of the Dragon Spring Festival Travel Report" released by the travel website Ctrip, during the Spring Festival holiday, the number of ticket bookings for inbound tourist attractions increased more than 10 times compared with 2019. The main source countries are Japan, the United States, South Korea, Australia, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Vietnam, Canada, Thailand, Germany. Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Nanjing, Harbin, Xi'an and other cities are the main destinations for foreign tourists.
On February 22, 2024, the 2024 Cross-Strait Folk Culture Festival opened in the Shangxiahang Historical and Cultural District in Fuzhou City. The activities include folk custom intangible cultural heritage performances, county (city) district and Taiwan folk custom exhibition halls, intangible cultural heritage themed bazaars, street culture and art pop-ups, etc. The picture shows foreign tourists taking photos with Chaoshan British singers and dancers. The
report also mentioned that the unilateral visa-free policy implemented by China since last year has shown its effects. Tourists from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Malaysia, Singapore and other new countries that can enter China without a visa have increased significantly. During the Spring Festival of the above-mentioned countries, The total number of inbound travel orders doubled compared with the same period in 2019.
Which foreigners can be exempted from visa for 30 days?
According to Xinhuanet, on March 1, the agreement between China and Thailand on mutual visa exemption for ordinary passport holders officially came into effect, ushering in the "visa-free era" between China and Thailand. The agreement was signed in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, on January 28. According to the agreement, Chinese personnel holding ordinary official passports and ordinary passports and Thai personnel holding ordinary passports can enter the other country without a visa. A single stay shall not exceed 30 days, and a cumulative stay shall not exceed 90 days in every 180 days.
reported that Thailand is the third country to sign a mutual visa exemption agreement with China this year, following Singapore and Antigua and Barbuda, benefiting ordinary passport holders. As of now, the number of countries that enjoy comprehensive visa exemption with China has increased to 23, covering five continents.
A list of the 23 countries that currently enjoy mutual visa exemption with China was drawn by "The Paper".
It should be noted that two countries or regions that have concluded a mutual visa exemption agreement can enjoy a visa-free stay of usually 30 days in the other country or region as long as their citizens hold a valid passport or international travel document stipulated in the agreement. However, It does not mean that you can stay or reside in the agreement country indefinitely. According to the requirements of the agreement, if citizens stay for more than 30 days, or study, live, work, etc. locally, they should apply for subsequent residence procedures locally as required.
In fact, visa facilitation measures are not limited to comprehensive mutual visa exemption. At present, China has concluded mutual visa exemption agreements covering different passport types with 157 countries, and has reached agreements or arrangements with 44 countries to simplify visa procedures.
The first "World Tourism Barometer" released by the World Tourism Organization in 2024 pointed out that China's outbound and inbound tourism is expected to accelerate growth in 2024, thanks to visa facilitation and improvements in air transport capacity. At the same time, driven by pent-up demand from tourists, international tourism has recovered to 88% of pre-epidemic levels by the end of 2023, and is expected to achieve a full recovery by the end of this year.
To sum up, the data transmitted online is far from the facts. In January this year alone, the number of overseas tourists entering Shanghai from Shanghai ports and the number of overseas tourists entering Shanghai from other ports in my country reached 358,300, of which foreign tourists accounted for 71%.
In addition, as of now, China has reached comprehensive visa-free agreements with 23 countries and regions around the world. According to the agreement, citizens of the two signatory countries or regions can stay in the other country or region without a visa for 30 days with valid passports or documents. However, if the license holder needs to stay for more than 30 days, he must apply for residence procedures locally as required. People from target countries who have not signed a mutual visa exemption agreement or China has implemented a unilateral visa exemption policy will not be able to enjoy the visa exemption policy and still need to go through relevant procedures.
The Paper Mingcha intern Li Xuanqin also contributed to this article.
