Foreign tourists are gradually returning to China in greater numbers as the country opens its doors wider than ever before. Citizens from 74 countries can now enter China visa-free for up to 30 days—a significant expansion aimed at boosting tourism, revitalizing the economy, and expanding China’s global influence.
The results are already evident. More than 20 million tourists entered China without a visa in 2024—double the figure from the previous year and representing nearly one-third of all foreign entries, according to the National Immigration Administration.
“This really helps people travel,” said Georgi Shavadze, a Georgian national living in Austria, while visiting Beijing’s Temple of Heaven. “It’s such a hassle to apply for a visa.”
While the majority of visitors at tourist sites remain domestic, international travel companies are bracing for a surge in foreign arrivals during the peak summer season. English-speaking tour guide Gao Jun, who has worked in the industry for over 20 years, said the demand has become overwhelming. “I just can’t handle them all on my own,” he said, noting he has now launched a training business for aspiring guides.
China reopened to tourists in early 2023 after ending stringent COVID-19 restrictions, but only 13.8 million international tourists visited that year—less than half the pre-pandemic total of 31.9 million in 2019.
The latest expansion in visa-free travel includes almost all of Europe, along with five Latin American countries, several in the Middle East, and Uzbekistan. Azerbaijan will join the list on July 16, bringing the total to 75. About two-thirds of the countries are currently included in a one-year trial period.
Families like that of Norwegian traveler Øystein Sporsheim say the changes make travel far easier. “We used to have to make two round trips to the Chinese embassy in Oslo for visas,” he said. “Now we can just go.”
Jenny Zhao, managing director at boutique tour company WildChina, said her company’s business has surged 50% compared to before the pandemic. While U.S. tourists still make up around 30% of their client base, European visitors have jumped from less than 5% before 2019 to nearly 20% today. “We’re quite optimistic,” Zhao said.
Online travel agency Trip.com Group reported a major spike in tourism-related bookings for China. In the first quarter of 2025, flight and hotel bookings doubled year-over-year, with 75% of travelers coming from newly eligible visa-free countries.
However, notable gaps remain. No major African country has been included in the policy yet, despite China’s strong economic and diplomatic ties across the continent.
Meanwhile, citizens from 10 countries—including the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Russia—are still excluded from the 30-day visa-free list. However, they may still enter China for up to 10 days under a transit policy, provided they are passing through China to a third country and enter through one of 60 designated ports.
Sweden’s exclusion raised eyebrows, especially as it remains one of the few high-income European countries not included. Tensions between Sweden and China have grown since the 2020 sentencing of Swedish bookseller Gui Minhai, who was abducted in Thailand and later imprisoned in China.