Foreigners' experience in China is more "smooth", China and Malaysia extend visa-free period
According to reports, on June 20, China and Malaysia announced the extension of their visa-free policies to each other: China agreed to extend the visa-free policy for Malaysian citizens until the end of 2025, and Malaysia will extend the visa-free policy for Chinese citizens until the end of 2026.
According to Qunar Index, after the announcement, the search index for Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, increased by 49% compared with last week. On Qunar platform, the number of air ticket bookings from China to Malaysia increased by 2.2 times year-on-year, and the popular travel cities were Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, Penang, Kuala Terengganu, Langkawi, etc.
The mutual visa exemption policy between China and Malaysia has a significant boost to the tourism industry. According to Ctrip data, Malaysia is the fourth largest source country for inbound Chinese tourists this year. The number of Malaysian tourists' travel orders to mainland China has increased more than four times year-on-year. The Chinese cities they like to visit include Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Beijing, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Kunming, Suzhou, Xiamen and other places.
At the same time, the recovery rate of flights from mainland China to Malaysia has reached nearly 90% of the same period in 2019, and the economic, trade and tourism exchanges between the two countries have become increasingly close. Since the beginning of this year, the number of travel orders from mainland China to Malaysia has increased nearly 2 times year-on-year.
Zhou Weihong, deputy general manager of Spring Airlines, said that since China and Malaysia have mutually facilitated visas, the two sides have benefited significantly in terms of trade and flight routes. During the Spring Festival this year, the Shenyang branch of Spring Airlines received more than 280 Malaysian tourists to visit China and experience the natural beauty and cultural customs under different climatic conditions. The peak summer travel season is approaching, and the popularity of Malaysia's free travel and Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore connection products are continuing to rise, and the performance has exceeded the same period last year.
Among the free travel products in Malaysia, Penang, with its rich food, is a favorite destination for tourists. For this reason, Spring Airlines has also launched a free travel product from Shanghai to Penang, allowing food lovers to visit the local area more easily and taste special foods such as Bak Kut Teh, Nyonya cuisine, Nasi Lemak, and curry noodles.
In addition, Malaysia group tour products are constantly being upgraded and optimized, with more "Internet celebrity" elements added. In the popular "Singapore Malaysia 6 Days 4 Nights Exclusive Tour", tourists can not only travel to both countries in one trip, but also go to Selangor Sky Horizon to shoot blockbusters, go to Johor Bahru to participate in the firefly tracking tour, etc.
Relevant personnel from Ctrip Research Institute believe that the extension of the mutual visa exemption policy between the two sides will further promote the development of tourism in the two countries and facilitate the return of Malaysian Chinese to visit relatives and travel. At the same time, it is also expected to drive the implementation and extension of more mutual visa exemption policies.
Since the beginning of this year, inbound tourism has become the highlight and growth of China's tourism market. Cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, and Harbin have welcomed a large number of overseas tourists returning and visiting. In addition to the unilateral visa exemptions that have been implemented for countries such as France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain, China has recently added unilateral visa exemptions for tourists from New Zealand and Australia. In addition, a number of inbound tourism facilitation measures such as payment, accommodation, and ticket reservations have been implemented, further enhancing China's attractiveness to overseas tourists.
On overseas social platforms, many foreign tourists have spontaneously shared their travel experiences in China, driving inbound tourism to form a virtuous cycle and spiral growth. Data shows that in the first quarter of this year, the number of foreigners coming to China increased by more than three times compared with the same period in 2023, with a total of 466,000 foreign visas issued, up 118.8% year-on-year; 1.988 million foreigners entered China visa-free, up 266.1% year-on-year. With the continuous introduction of a series of measures such as China's optimization of visa policies to facilitate exchanges between Chinese and foreign personnel, foreign tourists' travel experience in China will become more "smooth".
