Expanded unilateral visa-waiver agreements are reshaping China’s inbound tourism map. An analysis released on 13 July by online travel giant Qunar shows that travellers holding foreign passports booked flights to 160 Chinese cities in H1 2026, up sharply from 2025. While Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen remain magnets, secondary centres such as Chongqing, Changsha, Hangzhou and Zhengzhou recorded double-digit growth, and inland hotspots like Daocheng and Jinggangshan appeared on the booking charts for the first time. The shift comes after Beijing rolled out 15-day and 30-day visa-free entry for citizens of 13 European and Asian countries between December 2025 and April 2026, and simplified 72/144-hour transit rules in more than 20 airports. Lower barriers mean businesspeople can now tack factory visits in Yiwu or supply-chain checks in Kashgar onto a Shanghai trip without extra red tape. Yiwu’s inbound bookings jumped 62 percent, while Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei electronics market cracked the national top ten for overseas hotel reservations. Belt-and-Road markets are responding fastest: Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan all posted triple-digit percentage increases, and bookings from Greece soared nearly ten-fold as Chinese cruise lines marketed visa-free stopovers in Piraeus. European visitors are also staying longer—an average 3.2 nights versus the 2.1-night overall mean—suggesting a pivot from whistle-stop factory tours to deeper commercial engagement and leisure extensions. For multinationals the data underpin a broader talent-mobility opportunity. With more non-hub airports now on direct international schedules, companies can shorten domestic legs, cut carbon footprints and improve traveller wellbeing. Mobility teams, however, should watch for uneven service levels: smaller city PSB offices may process on-arrival registrations only during weekday hours, and some require paper copies of passports despite national e-registration guidelines. Travel managers should pre-brief staff and maintain a China-wide provider network for urgent support.
Source: Xinhua via eHangzhou.gov.cn
