What will it bring? , cruise inbound tourism is fully visa-free

On May 15, the National Immigration Administration held a press conference to issue an announcement on the full implementation of the visa-free policy for foreign tourist groups to enter the country by cruise ship.

The announcement stated that starting from May 15, 2024, foreign tourist groups that come to China by cruise ship and are hosted by domestic travel agencies can enter without visas from 13 cruise ports along my country's coast: including Tianjin, Dalian, Liaoning, Shanghai, Lianyungang, Jiangsu, Wenzhou and Zhoushan in Zhejiang, Xiamen in Fujian, Qingdao in Shandong, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong, Beihai in Guangxi, Haikou and Sanya in Hainan; the stay does not exceed 15 days; the scope of activities is coastal provinces and Beijing.

With the full implementation of the visa-free entry policy for foreign tourist groups taking cruises, what significant changes and impacts will it bring? How will it promote the cruise economy to heat up?

Foreign tourist groups are fully exempted from visa requirements when traveling by cruise ship. What changes will occur?

Before May 15, passengers entering Tianjin Port by cruise ship were required to fill in a foreigner entry card, retain fingerprint biometric information as required, and stamp an entry and exit approval stamp during the border inspection process. If they need to leave Tianjin for Beijing For sightseeing in other places, you also need to apply for a temporary entry permit or apply for a stay permit. On average, each passenger spends at least 3 to 5 minutes to go through the relevant procedures. If you need to apply for a temporary entry permit, it will take longer.

According to the latest regulations of the National Immigration Administration, including the Tianjin International Cruise Home Port, starting from May 15, foreign tourist groups that come to China by cruise ship and are organized and received by domestic travel agencies can enter the country without a visa from all cruise ports along the coast of my country. The stay is 15 days, involving 13 cruise ports across the country. Correspondingly, the relevant entry and customs clearance procedures will be further simplified.

Li Zhiming, Deputy Director of the Border Inspection Department of Tianjin Border Inspection General Station: Our border inspection agencies are exempted from collecting fingerprint biometric information for foreign passengers entering the country by cruise ship, and are exempted from collecting entry and exit clearance stamps for passengers leaving the country on the same cruise ship. , no need to fill in entry and exit cards for foreigners. Border inspection procedures for cruise passengers have become more convenient. One of the most intuitive impacts is that the number of cruise ships visiting Tianjin will definitely increase. Moreover, foreign tourists visit Tianjin by taking cruise ships. After landing in Tianjin, more and more tourists will come to our Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, especially to Beijing for sightseeing.

Not only have the relevant entry procedures been simplified for tourists on cruise ships, but also the entry and exit procedures for crew members on international cruise ships will also be simplified starting from May 15.

Li Tao, deputy director of the Border Inspection and Management Department of the National Immigration Administration: Based on the application of the ship, the border inspection agency simplifies entry and exit procedures for crew members who arrive with the cruise ship and do not land, and are exempted from submitting entry and exit documents; for disembarkation, For foreign crew members who need to return to the ship after landing, electronic temporary entry permits will be issued centrally and automatically verified by the system to achieve quick and convenient landing and return.

Except for larger cruise home ports like Tianjin and Shanghai, in the past, some smaller cruise home ports rarely became ports of call for large international cruise ships, or the docking time was shorter. For example, in the Qingdao cruise home port, incoming cruise ships stay in Qingdao for only one day on average. The implementation of this new policy will also bring changes to Qingdao’s cruise home port.

Wang Yishun, a staff member of the Cruise Culture and Tourism Department of Qingdao International Cruise Port Area Service Administration: After the implementation of the new policy, more cruise ships can choose to visit Qingdao directly and stay in Qingdao longer. The number of inbound cruise tourists in Qingdao will also further increase. , which provides great convenience for Qingdao to develop its cruise and inbound tourism business.

2024 is regarded as the year of recovery for China’s cruise market. In December 2023, a cruise ship loaded with nearly 2,000 tourists from all over the world departed from Miami, USA, and embarked on a 275-day "longest" global cruise trip in history. During this period, the "Melody of the Seas" cruise ship traveled across four oceans, visited seven continents, and stopped at more than 150 destinations in 60 countries.

On April 7 this year, the cruise ship arrived at its 68th port of visit - Tianjin. It will dock for two days and tourists can visit Beijing and Tianjin.

This year, Tianjin will also welcome more international cruise ships to dock. In addition to activating the tourism market, it will also drive the development of surrounding hotels, restaurants, shopping, culture and other industries. The reason why Tianjin can become a travel destination for international luxury cruise lines is that the convenient disembarkation process is indispensable.

Shanghai has taken the lead in implementing a 15-day visa-free policy for foreign tourist groups entering via cruise ship from Shanghai in 2016. On April 26, 2024, the cruise ship "Spectrum of the Seas" carrying more than 4,000 international tourists arrived at the Shanghai port. This is also the highest number of international tourists entering China on a single ship.

Because of the particularity of cruise tourism, tourists need not only port services, but also attractive tourism products. After landing, most tourists go straight to the port parking lot and seamlessly transfer to the tour bus. There are 16 high-quality, in-depth experience and customized "one-day tour" routes that will allow them to appreciate the charm of Shanghai.

For foreign tourists taking cruise ships, facilitating smooth entry is only the first step. How to let them experience better tourism services in limited time? On the morning of May 15, the National Immigration Administration held a press conference and introduced that in the future, it will continue to improve the convenience of inbound tourism. Sort out the entire process and work in all areas of inbound tourism, find and solve difficult problems, and make travel in China smoother and more comfortable for foreign tourists.

Shi Zeyi, Deputy Director of the International Exchange and Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism: Enrich the supply of inbound tourism products and services. Encourage and guide tourism market entities to launch corresponding inbound tourism products according to the characteristics of different groups, design high-quality tourism routes, provide interactive experience projects, improve the international level of tourism public services, and better meet tourists' travel consumption needs, so that foreign tourists can not only You can see the most beautiful Chinese scenery and feel the charm of Chinese culture.

Full visa-free entry for cruise ships is not only a starting gun, but also a relay race. From the port to the surrounding attractions, restaurants, shopping, travel agencies, etc., one stick after another, you must not only run your own stick well, but also Every stick is delivered well.