Argentina loosens visa rule for Chinese

The Argentinean government eases visa requirements for Chinese tourists who have obtained a valid tourism visa for the United States or the European Union. According to a statement issued by the government on July 26, those Chinese visitors will no longer need tourist visas, except for the $50 electronic travel authorization.

The Chinese tourists without valid visas for the United States or the EU, however, still need to apply for visas.

The statement said the country will further simplify visa application procedure to boost the exchanges between China and Argentina in trade, culture, travel, science and technology.

In recent years tourist visitors from China to Argentina grew at the average annual growth rate of 25 percent. In 2015, the country welcomed 40,000 Chinese visitors and in the first quarter of this year, Chinese tourists increased by 16 percent compared with that of last year.

In April, Argentina's Tourism Minister Gustavo Santos said that his country wanted to multiply by 10 the number of Chinese visitors in 2019. He said Argentine is negotiating with some Chinese hotel groups to invest in Argentinean hospitality industry specialized for Asian visitors to attract more Chinese.