A destination to remember

The total number of visas issued to foreigners reached 466,000, an increase of 118.8 percent year-on-year, while the number of visa-free foreign visitors entering the country reached 1.99 million, a year-on-year increase of 266.1 percent, the administration reports.

International visitors have been primarily coming to China for tourism and sightseeing purposes, accounting for more than 30 percent of arrivals, followed by those coming for business, to visit relatives, and for other purposes, according to the online travel company Trip.com Group.

The agency said its inbound tourism orders have more than tripled compared to the same period last year.

Many foreign tourists have said that they are experiencing changes during travel in the country, with more convenient entry procedures and services, such as payment, ticket booking, and transportation, the travel operator says.

The company's data revealed that the main origins of inbound travelers over the first three months were Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Vietnam, Canada and Russia.

The effect of the visa-free policy on inbound tourism is evident, says Wang Yalei, an analyst from the research center at Trip.com.

As China has officially implemented unilateral visa-free trials for France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia, the number of tourists from these six countries visiting China increased by about six-fold year-on-year, the agency reports.

Compared to the first quarter of 2019, there has been almost no change in the top 20 source countries for inbound tourism to China, Wang observes.

However, countries with a higher rate of international flight resumptions or which enjoy visa-free policies have shown higher growth rates.

For example, Malaysia has risen from the 8th place in 2019 to 2nd place this year, and Russia has risen from 16th to 10th place, he says.

In terms of growth rate, compared to the first quarter of 2019, visitors from neighboring countries, such as Malaysia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia, are prominent, according to the travel agency.

Top city destinations among inbound travelers this year are Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong province, and Chengdu in Sichuan province, the agency reveals.