China is lively, but it can be even better to explore.

Ask AI · How can inbound tourism break through the bottleneck of an imbalanced source-market structure?

The “15th Five-Year Plan and 5-Year Plan for the period after 2030” outline proposes: implement an inbound tourism promotion plan and improve the convenience and internationalization level of inbound travel. Inbound tourism is not only a core indicator for measuring the level of building China into a tourism powerhouse, but also an important lever for expanding exports of services trade and deepening high-level opening-up to the outside world. It can not only effectively drive consumption and employment growth across the entire industrial chain, but is also an important vehicle for spreading Chinese culture and enhancing the country’s cultural soft power.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2025 inbound visitors (including Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) will be 154.5 million person-trips; among them, foreign visitors account for 35.17 million person-trips, and foreign visitors entering visa-free account for 30.08 million person-trips. Total inbound tourism spending will be $131.1 billion, reaching record highs across the board.

Source: Economic Observer report

Looking specifically at the structure of visitor sources, compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan account for 77.2% of total inbound person-trips, while foreigners make up about 22.8%. The Ministry of Commerce’s Research Institute—International Service Trade Research Institute—data shows that among foreign visitors, the top five source destinations include East and Southeast Asian countries such as South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan.

From a global perspective, China has uniquely advantageous cultural and tourism resources.

First, China’s distinctive three-tier stepped landform structure creates world-rare diversity and contrast in its landscapes. The first tier is the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau; the second tier includes the Inner Mongolia Plateau, the Loess Plateau, and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau; the third tier includes the Northeast Plain, the North China Plain, the Yangtze River middle and lower plains, and the Southeast hills. This stepped landform structure allows China, as a single country, to showcase almost all major types of natural scenic views, such as snow-covered regions, grasslands, canyons, plains, hills, and coastal areas.

Second, as a civilization with a history of 5,000 years, China has the world’s leading number of World Heritage sites. Different geographic and landform conditions have given rise to differentiated cultural and folk traditions. China’s historical and humanistic resources have globally unique, irreplaceable core competitiveness.

Third, China’s overall economic scale is already the world’s second largest. Its tourism infrastructure is solid; product categories are rich, and services are high-quality, efficient, and cost-effective—making it one of the safest tourism destinations globally that is widely recognized. All of these are important factors for China to build itself as the No. 1 inbound tourism destination in the world.

In Liangjiang New Area of Chongqing, foreign tourists enjoy Chongqing hotpot inside an air-raid shelter. Xinhua News Agency photo

While fully recognizing the advantages, we must also remain clear-eyed about the shortcomings:

First, whether judged by China’s position in the international arena or by our rich natural and cultural resources and infrastructure, inbound tourism’s contribution to GDP is not enough. Currently, China’s inbound tourism revenue accounts for less than 0.5% of GDP. Compared with major tourism powers worldwide, the proportion is relatively low, and the economic growth potential has far from been released.

Second, the source structure of inbound visitors is imbalanced. The Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan market holds absolute dominance, with a low share of foreign visitors. Visitor concentration from East Asia and Southeast Asia is high, and their consumption capacity is strong and they stay longer. However, the share of inbound visitors from distant markets such as Europe and the United States—where consumers have strong purchasing power and tend to stay longer—is overall low, and market penetration is insufficient. The greater the cultural differences, the stronger the appeal of tourism; yet there is a clear gap in this regard. China’s international publicity and promotion for inbound tourism is not strong enough, and the reach, influence, and efficiency of international communication are limited.

Third, the level of internationalization and convenience does not match the resources of world-class tourism destinations. During inbound travel, there are bottlenecks and choke points. For example, it is difficult to arrange independent travel; coverage of foreign card payments is insufficient; cash use is inconvenient; some internationally used apps cannot be used; and foreign visitors may find it hard to learn and smoothly use domestic apps. Visa-free transit conditions are strict; land border ports are not sufficiently open; and there are many regional restrictions. There is not enough information in foreign languages and insufficient signage—especially in small and medium-sized cities or remote areas. International air routes are concentrated in a few major cities, and for foreign visitors, transportation connections to smaller cities and tourism destinations are not smooth enough.

Source: Hands-on Zhangjiajie

To address the above shortcomings and deficiencies, we should adhere to targeted measures and effectively make up for weak points in inbound tourism development.

First, comprehensively implement visa-free policies for key source countries. Facilitate multi-dimensional inbound entry via land, water, and air, and simplify inbound procedures. Strengthen cooperation with major travel agencies, airlines, and new media platforms to carry out joint promotion and targeted user attraction, and establish stable channels for supplying source markets.

Second, there are many foreign tourists going to East Asia and Southeast Asia every year. These visitors are already close to China, so it is necessary to take targeted measures to channel this flow into the Chinese market. Relax visa-free transit conditions, open land border ports and activity areas, and truly enable independent travel immediately upon entry.

Third, expand offline acceptance of foreign cards such as Visa and Mastercard, and promote full coverage at scenic areas, buses, and small shops. Set up bilingual staffed service counters in key scenic spots and at bus and metro stations, and enhance the provision of English signage at scenic areas and transportation hubs.

Fourth, for independent travelers, effectively address issues with public transportation such as buses and metros. Drawing on overseas experience, introduce discounted tickets for single-day and multi-day rides, and support the direct tap-and-go use of foreign cards for boarding. Install public transportation ticket vending machines in hotels. If independent travelers encounter difficulties purchasing bus or metro tickets, hotel lobby staff can assist them in buying tickets.

Source: Culture, Tourism and Beijing

Overall, continuously improve the convenience and experience of inbound travel, turn our strengths in natural, historical, and cultural resources into real competitive advantages, and make China the preferred destination for global tourists.

Author: Huang Juan, Research Fellow at the Yangtze River Economic Belt Research Institute of Renmin University of China, and Professor at the School of Applied Economics