It’s an inconvenience that many foreigners in China have faced: booking a hotel only to find that the hotel can’t (or won’t) accommodate foreign guests. Usually the reasons given, as the Global Times puts it, are that the hotel “doesn’t have qualifications for receiving foreign guests”, or the staff “don’t know how to input information into the systems”.

The Chinese government seems to have taken note of this, as on 24 May, three ministries – the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), the Ministry of Commerce (MOCFOM), and the National Immigration Administration – released an official reply to online complaints about the issue.

The reply states that the ministries will work together to make targeted efforts to deal with the situation. For example, MOFCOM is already working with the China Hospitality Association on an initiative to make accommodation in China more convenient for foreign visitors, including expanding booking channels, training English-speaking staff, and offering telecommunications and catering services aimed at international audiences.

All guests, Chinese or foreign, must be registered when they check in at a hotel in China. Accommodation registration information for foreigners must be submitted by the hotel to the local public security organs within 24 hours of them arriving at the property. Regardless of the different types of business license required to run certain types of company in China, a refusal to accept foreigners has often just been down to a lack of information or (as is the case in more remote areas) a lack of any sort of valid business license in the first place.

In 2022 American translator Marian Rosenberg, who lives in Hainan, went viral with a WeChat post detailing her experiences travelling around the country during the height of the zero Covid policy, which famously made the situation worse for non Chinese travellers who were regularly arbitrarily turned away in fear.

The move is just the latest in a series of measures aimed at tempting both leisure and business travellers back to China post-Covid, including visa-free entry for a growing list of countries, relaxed requirements for visas on arrival, and easier payment options for foreign visitors.

Photo by Dave Photoz on Unsplash

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As Celine Tang – CBBC’s Retail & e-Commerce Sector Lead – pointed out at the beginning of the session, China’s zero Covid restrictions have been relaxed for almost a year now, but this will be the first Spring Festival holiday where travellers have had enough notice to book a trip overseas during the festival. What’s more, restrictions on group travel for Chinese people have also been lifted in the interim.

The big catch? The UK’s decision to end its tax-free shopping scheme for international tourists back in 2021. In other words, where Chinese visitors were previously allowed to claim back the VAT on items purchased during their stay in the country, that is no longer the case. As a result, Tang explains, countries including France and Italy are now more popular destinations for Chinese shoppers, who favour splurging in Paris and Milan over London.

The burden, therefore, falls on UK businesses to present alternative reasons to choose Britain for a trip, since it has become clear that relying on tax-free shopping as Chinese people’s primary motivation is no longer an option.

The panel during the recent CBBC event about unlocking Chinese visitors’ spending power during Chinese New Year

One of the UK’s advantages is its strong education sector, with thousands making the trip to see their children who study here during major holidays, or using education research as an excuse to come and check out the country.

This is where Hainan Airlines comes in, says Peter Han, who points out that unlike other Chinese carriers, Hainan flies to multiple UK cities outside of London, including Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin. Next year, the airline will double its frequency.

Since Hainan Airlines is also perceived to be a higher quality airline than the national carrier – with better in-flight food and entertainment, for starters – Alexander Graham points out that its passengers are just the type of client UK businesses should be targeting.

His company, Luxe Life, has devised a smart strategy to use the real estate on the back of everyone’s paper airline tickets, which previously went to waste, to target Chinese clients with advertising before they board their flights to the UK. Targeting Hainan Airlines’ clients “is a great chance to get to the end consumer,” he says, adding that fast conversion is key. “There’s a certain time of year when people feel like spending, to have fun and be frivolous, and now is the time to capitalise on that.”

Graham also says that Chinese New Year can also be a great time for brands to “go for it” when it comes to advertising and marketing to Chinese consumers, as it’s a gamble that he’s seen pay off in the past. “If in two weeks you can get a year’s worth of revenue, you’re really going to win,” he added.

So what exactly should brands be considering when targeting 2024’s Chinese traveller to the UK?

For Qumin’s Arnold Ma, it’s about tapping into trends that are popular right now in China and meeting consumers exactly where they are. When advertising, “hijacking what people are already talking about works really well,” he says, adding that this is far more effective than attempting to create a new conversation. And there are plenty of topics to draw on for inspiration, too – from coffee culture and people’s new-found desire to be “spiritual and connected”, to city walks, urbancore (an aesthetic based on imagery of urban life and urban streets) and mountaincore (an aesthetic based on outdoor activities like hiking and rock climbing).

If he could give one piece of advice to brands trying to reach Chinese visitors to the UK, it would be to use social media, which simply cannot be ignored. And if your company plans to engage creators and influencers in its marketing – which he also advises – don’t freak out if the content they come up with doesn’t make a huge amount of sense to you or isn’t exactly how you would do things: “Focus on what you’re good at as marketers, and let creators focus on what they’re good at – creating content,” he says, pointing out that it’s the influencers on the ground who know their audiences most intimately.

Qumin’s Arnold Ma presenting during the CBBC event

Ma also says it’s important not to simply advertise your products. For a market that grows more sophisticated by the month, that just won’t cut it: “Chinese consumers want content that will make them feel good,” he says. “That’s aspirational. That will make them laugh, or cry.”

Another potential trap when strategising a Chinese New Year campaign is relying on the idea that something being “made in the UK” carries the same weight it used to because this is no longer the case.

Finally, for those creating in-store or hospitality experiences and interacting with Chinese customers on the ground, simply being friendly, helpful and accommodating can make a huge difference, says Graham.

“Chinese travellers don’t always feel welcome, so if your brand is welcoming, you already have an advantage.”

The post Unlocking the Consumer Power of Chinese New Year appeared first on Focus - China Britain Business Council.

Pre-Covid, China’s international tourism spend, at £225 billion, was the most of any country in the world – almost double that of the USA, whose citizens collectively spent £117 billion in 2019. Much of that spending went to China’s Asian neighbours, with Thailand, Japan and Vietnam making up the top three foreign travel destinations for Chinese travellers.

Nevertheless, over the past decade, the UK has also been high on the agenda for China’s growing middle classes, with 1.01 million visiting in 2019, attracted by the UK’s history and culture, as well as its shopping and leisure facilities.

Things, of course, came to an abrupt halt during the pandemic as global travel was put on hold. In 2021, less than 20,000 Chinese visitors came to the UK, as restrictions from both sides were put in place and flight routes were cancelled. This figure crept up to just 46,986 in 2022, according to Visit Britain.

However, since China re-opened earlier this year, flights between the UK and China have recovered to 70% of pre-pandemic levels, with airlines like Hainan Airlines offering direct flights between major Chinese cities and major UK hubs like London and Manchester.  The recovery may be happening slower than people had hoped, but the fact is that Chinese tourists are now coming back to the UK – especially since Beijing started to allow group travel again – with research by the New West End Company (NWEC) revealing that visitor numbers in September 2023 were only 2% lower than in September 2019.

However, it seems that the tourists that are coming back are spending much less than they used to. The same research by NWEC found that Chinese tourists in the West End were spending 58% less than they were before the pandemic.

This is in part due to the Covid hangover and a global economic downturn, but many have also blamed it on the British government scrapping tax-free shopping in early 2021, which the Association for International Retail (AIR) has estimated will lead to an annual loss of £750 million from Chinese tourists alone. Tourists might still be keen to come to the UK for culture and experiences, but they are doing their luxury shopping in Europe or even at home in Hainan.

Nevertheless, many are betting on spending recovering during the approaching Lunar New Year peak travel season. Although most of China’s Covid restrictions had been lifted by Chinese New Year 2023, flights were still few and far between, and most people hadn’t had time to make travel plans, making this year the first year of true ‘recovery’.

“I’m pretty confident that numbers will get back up to pre-Covid numbers,” says Champa Selim, Deputy Director of Greater China and South East Asia at Bicester Village, commenting on the prospects for Chinese New Year. “Although things can happen quickly to impact China-UK relationships.”

Lunar New Year used to be a time to spend at home with family, but in recent decades, many Chinese people have been using the week off work as an opportunity to travel. But it is not just short-term holidaymakers that will be hitting the UK during Lunar New Year. Many Chinese expats spend the holiday in Britain, especially the 150,000 Chinese students studying in the UK. Creating culturally-sensitive campaigns that resonate with these consumers at this time of year can boost both sales and brand recognition.

Companies looking to understand what the holiday means to the tourism market will have a chance to do so at an upcoming CBBC event on November 30 in partnership with Hainan Airlines, according to Celine Tang, CBBC’s Retail & e-Commerce Sector Lead.

“Attending events during this festive period, especially like this one in collaboration with Hainan Airlines, offers a unique opportunity to engage with and understand this vital market,” says Tang. “Such partnerships are not just about advertising, but celebrating and participating in a rich cultural exchange that Chinese New Year epitomises. It’s an occasion where the significance of cultural understanding and sensitivity comes to the forefront, crucial for any brand looking to make a meaningful connection with this audience.”

Brands that want to succeed in China increasingly need to consider cultural and experiential factors, and not just at Lunar New Year. The new generation of Chinese consumers are seeking “experiences” when shopping or even eschewing spending on tangible items for spending on things like concerts, health and wellness services, and travel.

To tap into these changing habits, UK brands could consider creating partnerships with local tourist attractions, or coming up with branded events series (e.g., the fitness events hosted by Lululemon). On a more basic level, giving affluent shoppers top-notch service (including localised service offerings such as Mandarin-speaking staff and Chinese payment options) and creating a warm and inviting atmosphere can also go a long way.

Positive experiences can translate into spending and brand loyalty that lasts long after the New Year holiday.

All in all, it is important to recognise that the demands and expectations of the young, affluent consumers who make up over 50% of the Chinese tourists visiting the UK are changing. Whether it is moving away from big labels to smaller, “quiet luxury” brands, or preferring to find product information on social media, UK brands need to stay on top of trends to get the most out of the return of Chinese tourists in 2024 and beyond.

The post How to meet the needs of Chinese tourists this Spring Festival appeared first on Focus - China Britain Business Council.

Now that China is firmly free from the spectre of Covid controls, brands in China and the UK are naturally asking questions about the current state of the China market, what we can expect from the new cohort of Chinese consumers, and how to meet Chinese consumers’ expectations.

One of the key takeways from CBBC’s October 2023 China Chat event was that whilst China’s economic growth appears to have plateaued, brands should not lose faith in the market. Despite reported concerns over the country’s macroeconomic slowdown, China Chat speakers Antoaneta Becker (Director, Consumer Economy at the China-Britain Business Council); Simon Mitchell (Co-Founder of Sybarite); Champa Selim (Deputy Director of Greater China and Southeast Asia at Bicester Village), and William Lyon (CEO and Cofounder of ArcOn Brands) , all expressed positive impressions of bustling Chinese shopping districts.

China is still a “wonderful market” said Simon Mitchell, adding that it still presents many opportunities for Western brands. Although there is now fierce competition in the market as local brands gain popularity, there is still a desire amongst consumers for Western brands. Provinces such as Guangdong, nearby Southeast Asian Countries, and places such as Hong Kong, are hugely benefitting from a boom in Chinese tourism.

However, the number of Chinese tourists travelling further afield has dipped when compared to pre-Covid levels. This was reflected in China’s recent week-long National Day Holiday, known as ‘Golden Week’. Anecdotally, Champa Selim said that Bicester Village did not witness the same influx of tourism as in 2019. There are several explanations for this, including the fact that flights are still costly and have not returned to pre-Covid levels of availability. It will take time to get back up to pre-Covid levels.

Moreover, there has been a change in consumer demands and expectations, especially among young, affluent consumers, putting UK retailers and venues that traditionally performed well with Chinese tourists in competition with a wider market. Unlike prior to Covid, young Chinese consumers are leaning towards small “quiet luxury” brands instead of the big labels, and brands will have to wait and see how this new trend continues to evolve. Giving VIP shoppers top-notch service (including localised service offerings such as Mandarin-speaking staff and Chinese payment options) and creating a warm and inviting atmosphere can go a long way.

Most importantly, Chinese consumers are seeking an “experience” when shopping. Sybarite and ArCon both noted key areas in which Chinese consumers are seeking out such an experience. One example of this is offline to online channels, whereby consumers are seeking a seamless experience that allows them to shop online via Tmall but also travel to a store to see the product in-person. Localisation is key to facilitating this, and brands need to embody this in everything they do. Successful retail stores embrace and infuse local elements and rich context into their brand, creating a unique and authentic connection with their customers.

In addition, Chinese consumers are increasingly appreciating the stories behind brands, and Western brands should not rely on repeated purchases to succeed in the market, but rather on creating a retail experience for the customer. Brands with a rich heritage can always innovate by bridging their historical roots with modern design, amplifying the shopping experience in the process. For example, Simon Mitchell described his thought process behind designing the SKP and SKP-S department stores in China, with the newest in Chengdu being inspired by the theme “Life on Mars”, resulting in a unique mix of “70% experience, 30% retail stores”.

As many will already be aware, China’s digital community is incomparable to the rest of the world, and brands that wish to engage in the China market need to define their brick-and-mortar strategy hand in hand with their digital strategy. Western brands scaling into retail (for example, after launching on Tmall Global) need to consider how they’re selling to Chinese consumers. For example, adding a touch of the fantastical can transport customers on a magical journey during their shopping experience, leaving a lasting impression.

The post How to engage Chinese consumers at home and abroad appeared first on Focus - China Britain Business Council.

Pre-covid, China’s international tourism spend, at £225 billion, was the most of any country in the world – almost double that of the USA in second place, whose citizens collectively spent £117 billion in 2019. Much of that spending went to China’s Asian neighbours, with Thailand, Japan and Vietnam making up the top three foreign travel destinations for Chinese travellers.

But thanks to Europe’s Schengen visa system that allows Chinese tourists to visit 27 EU countries on one visa, more and more tourists from China have been flying further afield to appreciate the history, culture, cuisine and, most importantly, shopping in Europe, with France being the number one European destination.

Although the UK doesn’t belong to Schengen, inbound tourism to the UK from China has also risen drastically in recent years, rising from 192,000 visits in 2009 to 1.01 million in 2019. This is in part due to the rapidly growing number of middle-class Chinese who have the spending power to travel, but also because Britain has been at the forefront of attracting the deep-pocketed tourists to our shores, with a wealth of experiential offerings, from attending football games and whisky tastings to visiting royal palaces.

Britain’s soft power has done a lot to attract tourists, but now a concerted effort is being made to ease the path for Chinese tourists to visit the UK. Initiatives including Chinese language signage, specially created apps, WeChat and Alipay payment options, and even Chinese breakfasts at hotels are all helping to attract China’s new generation of wealthy tourists.

However, things came to an abrupt halt during the pandemic as global travel was put on hold. In 2021, a mere 17,000 Chinese visitors came to the UK as restrictions from both sides were put in place and flight routes were cancelled. This figure crept up to just 73,000 in 2022.

Although China re-opened earlier this year and international flights have now resumed (albeit not to pre-pandemic levels), the number of Chinese tourists coming to the UK is still lower than expected. Visit Britain predicts Chinese tourist numbers to reach 250,000 in 2023 – just a quarter of pre-pandemic levels.

This is in part due to the Covid hangover and a global economic downturn, but Beijing’s ban on tour groups visiting the UK – which was only removed in August 2023 – has been the biggest factor. Tour groups have traditionally made up nearly half of all Chinese travel to the UK, with the remainder being made up of independent travellers, business travellers and governmental delegations.

The Covid-era tour group ban, however, has been one of the factors contributing to the rise of the free and independent traveller (FIT). According to Champa Selim, Deputy Director of Greater China and South East Asia at Bicester Village, the majority of visits to the Oxfordshire shopping village have been FITs.

China’s FITs have been on the rise for years. Younger, wealthier tourists have been eager to move away from the constraints of package tours and focus their trips on their specific interests. Some might be coming to the UK for shopping, others for sports. Some might be eager to visit stately homes or hike in the hills, while others might be happy to discover Liverpool or Manchester’s nightlife.

“Most FITs are high net worth individuals, visiting their children who are at university or business or property investors,” says Selim. “Over the past months, there have been a lot of business and government visitors as it is easier for them to get travel permits,” she says.

When the ban on tour groups was lifted in August 2023, there was an expectation that Chinese tourists would flood back in and indulge in ‘revenge spending’. But tour companies need time to ramp up their marketing, potential tourists haven’t had much notice, and the logistics and paperwork required to get passports, visas and flights have long lead times. The upshot is that nowhere near as many Chinese tourists made it to the UK in time for October’s Golden Week holidays.

However, Selim says that the big numbers will start to come back from Chinese New Year 2024. “I’m pretty confident that numbers will get back up to pre-covid numbers,” she says. “But things can happen quickly to impact China-UK relationships.”

Selim goes on to explain that post-covid tourism will see more FITs than before as the percentage of independent travellers will overtake those on package tours, and that the visitors will be made up of younger and more affluent groups. In 2022, Chinese tourists were among the youngest in the world, with 57% being between the ages of 18 and 34.

It is important that Chinese tourists do return soon, as many in the hospitality industry now rely on Chinese tourists to fill in the gap in the annual calendar. China’s two biggest holidays, Chinese New Year and Golden Week, occur during the UK’s low season: Chinese tourists help fill hotels in the cold January and February months and during the downturn in October after the British school holidays are over.

Another reason many tourist venues are eager to attract Chinese tourists is that their average stay is much longer at 16.33 nights, and with an average spend of £1,937 per person per trip, they are also the highest spenders per head. Chinese tourists are also much less London-centric than most European travellers, happy to travel to other areas, such as Bicester, to shop, Windsor for the royals, and other cities such as Manchester and Liverpool due to the high number of students in those areas.

And with more than 150,000 Chinese students in the UK, the value of visiting family members is also not to be downplayed, as they are usually FIT travellers and in the highest income bracket.

The pandemic has certainly shifted how people travel, but as international relations stabilise and travel corridors open up with more direct flights returning, Visit Britain predicts a 10% rise in pre-pandemic tourism levels by 2025, a figure that will please the 3.1 million British people working in the tourism sector.

China Chat | The Future of Experiential Retail in China and how UK Brands can benefit from its Innovation

CBBC’s popular China Chat series for consumer brands returns on 25 October in London.

The session will look at China’s evolving retail landscape and what it means for UK consumer brands seeking to engage with Chinese consumers in the post-pandemic era — both in China and in the UK.

Event speakers include Simon Mitchell, Co-Founder of Sybarite; Champa Selim, Deputy Director of Greater China and Southeast Asia at Bicester Village; Antoaneta Becker, Director, Consumer Economy at the China-Britain Business Council; and Celine Tang, Retail & E-commerce Sector Lead at the China-Britain Business Council.

Click here to register

Photo by Fas Khan on Unsplash

The post Are Chinese tourists returning to the UK post-Covid? appeared first on Focus - China Britain Business Council.

Despite the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, this year’s Dragon Boat Festival holiday saw a remarkable surge in travel numbers, both domestically and internationally, as well as a considerable increase in overall tourism spending.

There was a surge in domestic tourism as Chinese citizens embraced the opportunity to explore their own country. According to CGTN, 106 million trips were taken during the three-day holiday, and domestic travel revenue recovered to 94.9% of pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Concerts and music festivals proved to be major draws, while evening activities also saw a boost due to record high day-time temperatures.

Ctrip, a leading travel booking platform, revealed a substantial rise in outbound travel bookings during the holiday period, increasing more than 12 times year-on-year. People from the post-80s and post-90s generations made up 73% of all bookings, with the most popular destinations being Hong Kong, Bangkok, Macau, Tokyo and Singapore (short haul destinations likely being the main choice due to the short duration of the holiday).

The willingness of Chinese consumers to travel is good news for destinations like the UK, as post-Covid “revenge spending” on hotels and shopping overseas is thought to have the potential to boost the UK economy.

The Dragon Boat Festival holiday also proved to be a boon for China’s entertainment industry. Chinese cinemas reported the second-highest box office gross ever during the holiday, raking in RMB 910 million (£98.9 million) between 22-24 June. The most popular film was Lost in the Stars, a Chinese remake of the 1990 Russian film A Trap for Lonely Man. The surge in cinema attendance signifies the revival of consumer confidence and the desire for relaxing, escapist activities after a challenging period.

Despite the positive trends, concerns about the longer-term health of China’s consumer market remain, especially after the growth in consumer goods spending dropped from 15.9% in April to 10.9% in May. The South China Morning Post reported that a Beijing-based think tank, China Macroeconomy Forum, has called for subsidies of RMB 1,000 per person to be issued in the form of digital yuan to boost disposable income and avoid uneven economic recovery.

The post Dragon Boat Festival Tourism Boosts Confidence in Consumer Demand appeared first on Focus - China Britain Business Council.

HSBC Global Research states that over £760 billion (6.6 trillion RMB) has been saved since the strict lockdown in China started three years ago. This amounts to around 5.4% of GDP, and, according to David Maddison, director of UK retail and leisure at HSBC, the potential for these savings to be unleashed as so-called ‘revenge spending’ is huge.

“We have already seen the drastic impact of domestic revenge spending on luxury brands LVMH, Hermès, Ferragamo and Mulberry. This is only predicted to rise, given the higher-than-average demand for luxury goods from Chinese consumers. There is a significant opportunity for British businesses to capitalise on this Chinese demand,” he said.

With China’s Covid-era border controls removed, Chinese tourists are keen to travel abroad – a recent report from Gusto Luxe and Global Blue found that 92% of travellers were planning an overseas trip in 2023 – and not just for the travel experiences; the pricing of luxury goods in the UK and Europe is also a key attraction point. Research by Bain & Co found that prices for luxury bags were still 25-45% lower in Europe than in China – before accounting for 10-12% VAT.

After lockdowns in Europe ended in 2022, revenge spending by American tourists had a huge impact on reviving the European luxury market. “There is a hope and expectation that China will do as the Americans did, albeit to a greater degree, given the significant demand,” Maddison told the Times.

China Consumer 2023

This article was produced as part of a series for China Consumer 2023.

Learn more about CBBC’s flagship consumer event of 2023 here.

The post Could Chinese ‘revenge spending’ boost the UK economy? appeared first on Focus - China Britain Business Council.

The resumption of normal visa services includes China’s 144-hour visa-free transit policy, which allows foreign travellers transiting through the country to enjoy a six-day stay in certain Chinese cities without a visa.

Note that this is a transit visa, so it only applies to travellers flying into China from one country and flying out to another. For example, UK – Shanghai – Hong Kong would be a valid route under this policy, but UK – Shanghai – UK would not.

Where can you travel in China using the 144-hour visa-free transit?

Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province

Travellers to this region of China may enter and exit from any of the ports listed below and travel freely around the three regions during their 144-hour stay:
Beijing: Capital International Airport, Daxing International airport, Beijing West Railway Station (for trains from Hong Kong and Hanoi)
Tianjin: Binhai International Airport, Tianjin International Cruise Home Port
Hebei: Shijiazhuang: Zhengding International Airport
Hebei: Qinghuangdao: Qinhuangdao Beidaihe International Airport

Shanghai, Zhejiang Province and Jiangsu Province

Travellers to this part of China may enter and exit from any of the ports listed below and travel freely around the three regions during their 144-hour stay:
Shanghai: Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal, Wusong Passenger Transport Center, and Shanghai Train Station
Hangzhou, Zhejiang: Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport
Ningbo, Zhejiang: Ningbo Lishe Airport
Nanjing, Jiangsu: Nanjing Lukou Airport

Guangdong Province

Only three airports in Guangdong can issue the 144-hour free transit visa: Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Shenzhen Baoan International Airport, and Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport. Visitors can then travel freely throughout Guangdong Province and leave via any of the 32 entry/exit ports in Guangdong (land, sea and air).

Liaoning Province

Travellers to Liaoning Province may enter and exit from either of the ports listed below and travel freely around the region during their 144-hour stay.
Dalian: Zhoushuizi International Airport
Shenyang: Taoxian International Airport

Shandong Province

144-hour visitors arriving via Qingdao Liuting International Airport and Qingdao International Cruise Home Port are permitted to visit the whole of Shandong Province.

Chengdu and Sichuan Province

144-hour visitors arriving via Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport are permitted to visit Chengdu and 10 other cities in Sichuan Province: Leshan, Deyang, Suining, Meishan, Ya’an, Ziyang, Neijiang, Zigong, Luzhou and Yibin.

Chongqing

Visitors to Chongqing should enter and exit via Jiangbei International Airport.

Kunming

144-hour visitors arriving into Kunming via Changshui International Airport must remain in Kunming city only, and are not permitted to travel in the wider Yunnan Province.

Wuhan

144-hour visitors arriving into Wuhan via Tianhe International Airport are allowed to remain in Wuhan city only, not the wider Hubei Province.

Xi’an

144-hour visitors arriving into Xi’an via Xianyang International Airport are allowed to visit the cities of Xi’an and Xiangyang in Shaanxi Province.

Xiamen

144-hour visitors arriving into Xiamen via Gaoqi International Airport, Xiamen Wutong Passenger Terminal and Xiamen International Cruise Centre Port are allowed to remain in Xiamen city only, not wider Fujian Province.

Who is eligible for 144-hour visa-free transit?

Citizens of the following 53 countries can make use of the visa exemption:

• Europe Schengen area: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
• Other European countries: United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Monaco, Russia, and Belarus.
• North and South America: United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile.
• Oceania: Australia and New Zealand.
• Asia and the Middle East: South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Brunei, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.

What documents do you need to apply for 144-hour visa-free transit?

• A passport valid for at least three months from the date of entry
• An onward flight ticket to a third country or region (must be a direct flight out of China) with confirmed departure date and seat number
• A completed arrival/departure card

Note: Visa requirements may be subject to change. Please check the website of the Embassy of China or the Chinese Visa Application Service Centre nearest to you for the most up-to-date guidance.

The post How to visit China for 6 days, visa-free appeared first on Focus - China Britain Business Council.

The changes were announced during a press conference with China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin, who noted that they will further facilitate people-to-people exchanges between China and foreign countries. The change follows the resumption of the issuance of work and business visa services for foreign nationals in January 2023. Find out how CBBC can help with business visas here.

An update shared by China Consular Affairs included the following information about visa issuance:

• Valid multi-year, multi-entry visas issued before 28 March 2020 by the Chinese visa authorities abroad resume their function.
• Visa authorities stationed abroad will resume examining and issuing all types of visas for foreigners.
• Port visa authorities shall resume the issuing of all types of port visas in line with the relevant laws and regulations.
• The visa-exemption policy for Hainan, visa-exemption cruise policy for Shanghai, visa-exemption policy for foreigners to visit Guangdong from Hong Kong and Macao, and visa-exemption policy for ASEAN tour groups to Guilin and Guangxi will all come back into operation.

Commenting on the news, Tom Simpson, Managing Director, China at the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) said:

“Resuming applications for all types of visas removes another significant barrier in the resumption of normal travel between the UK and China.

CBBC has already seen business travel applications and arrivals begin to increase since January, however this news should lead to a significant increase in visits in particular for tourism.

Some barriers still remain, with PCR tests still required for travel to China from the UK. Also, the resumption of flights won’t be instant but gradual over the course of 2023 and into next year.”

The post China resumes normal visa services appeared first on Focus - China Britain Business Council.

Since most day-to-day Covid restrictions were lifted in December, domestic travel in China has bounced back with a vengeance, helped by the start of the annual Lunar New Year travel rush. It is predicted that more than 2 billion trips will be taken during the 40-day period, up 99.5% from 2022.

However, now that international travel has resumed as well, many British businesses are asking when Chinese tourists can be expected to start visiting the UK again in significant numbers. In 2019, Chinese tourists spent £1.71 billion in the UK, a 13.92% increase on 2018 – and if it hadn’t been for the pandemic, that upward trend would have continued.

Of course, speculation about tourist numbers is not an exact science, but many expect outbound trips to recover to 2019 levels by mid to late 2023 if no further travel restrictions are imposed on Chinese travellers by foreign countries. The signs are already positive: the search volume for outbound flight tickets and hotels on booking engine Ctrip reached a three-year high just after the international reopening was announced on 26 December,  and the hashtag #明年出境去哪儿玩 (‘where to travel abroad next year’) gained almost 160 million views on Weibo.com and has continued to trend since.

One barrier to getting Chinese tourists back to the UK is that flight schedules are still sparse (until very recently, the so-called ‘circuit breaker’ mechanism limited the number of flights to China from each country each week), but according to the Chinese government, current limitations on international flights between China and the rest of the world will soon be removed and will resume in an orderly manner. During the first week of 2023, Air China announced the opening of its Shanghai-Athens route and the resumption of its Shanghai-Frankfurt route. China Southern has opened its Shenzhen-Amsterdam route, and Hainan Airlines has announced weekly flights between Beijing and Manchester, to name just a few. China has also restarted the issuance and renewals of passports to its citizens.

For the UK to succeed in making the most of visits by Chinese tourists in the long term, it will be necessary to build on existing successes – the popularity of the UK’s historical and heritage sites, for example – while also introducing new initiatives to stimulate spending. Commercial representatives have proposed new measures such as simplified visa processes, VAT-free shopping (scrapped by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in autumn 2022), and extended opening hours, while Chinese language facilities and digital payment options will continue to be important.

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