By Kimberley Kao
China will allow visa-free entry for cruise ship passengers, part of efforts to attract foreign tourists at a time when international air passenger numbers remain well below pre-pandemic levels.
The policy, effective immediately, will allow travellers on group tours, organized and received by domestic travel agencies, to enter and stay in China without a visa for up to 15 days, the National Immigration Administration said Wednesday.
Qualifying tourists can enter China from cruise ports in 13 cities, including Shanghai and Guangzhou, and visit coastal provinces and Beijing.
The new policy comes as the number of cruise passenger trips in China in the first quarter surpassed that for the whole of 2023, according to data from the country's transport ministry. State media reported this month that 21 international cruise ships have been operating from domestic ports in China this year.
In recent months, China has made it easier and cheaper for business travellers and tourists to get visas, while scrapping visa requirements for some entirely, in an attempt to woo foreigners back. It recently extended visa-free travel for citizens of 11 European countries and Malaysia until the end of 2025. China and Thailand earlier this year signed a mutual visa exemption, and China resumed visa-free entry for Singapore last year.
China's first-quarter international air passenger numbers was roughly only 78% of 2019 pre-pandemic levels, signalling that recovery is still ongoing.
Qantas Airways this week said it will suspend flights between Sydney and Shanghai beginning late July, saying demand for the route hasn't recovered as expected, with flights to and from Shanghai operating half-full. The carrier instead added flights to Singapore, Manila in the Philippines and Bengaluru in India.
Write to Kimberley Kao at kimberley.kao@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-15-24 0533ET
