With the recovery of the international tourism market, more international routes are restored, and China's visa-free policy with multiple countries has been implemented. More and more foreigners have embarked on a "go where you want" trip to China. How hot is it now for inbound travel? What new ways do foreigners play in China? Inbound tourism also promotes industry changes. The CCTV reporter observed.

Li Mingxiang, a Sichuan native who works as a Spanish-language tour guide in Chengdu, has his itinerary booked from June to the end of October.

Spanish tour guide Li Mingxiang: at least 25 days of group tours per month, from 8 am to 4 pm every day, with a starting step count of 8,000 steps. If you want to go to the giant panda base, it's easy to break 10,000 steps.

In addition to leading his own tours, he also uses his spare time to train college students from Sichuan Foreign Studies University and expand the number of Spanish-speaking tour guides.

In the past, foreign tourists buying scenic spots tickets was a big pain point because they could only queue up to buy tickets after arriving at the scenic spot without ID cards. This year, the Panda Base specially opened an online ticket purchasing option for passports, saving the time of foreign tourists queuing.

In Beijing, foreigners can be seen everywhere at popular tourist attractions such as the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and Wangfujing Street.

Liu Cong, a Chinese tour guide in Sweden: At least two or three tours per week. In the peak season, it can be busy for a month without rest time and personnel need to be transferred from other provinces.

Foreigners visiting China have doubled.

Tourism and sightseeing, mostly.

During the recent Dragon Boat Festival holiday in 2024, orders for inbound travel on tourism platforms grew by 115% year-on-year, continuing a trend of high demand that began at the beginning of this year.

Data released by the National Immigration Administration shows that in the first quarter of this year, the number of foreign nationals visiting China was more than three times higher than the same period last year. The majority of them were tourists, accounting for over 30%. The World Economic Forum's 2024 Tourism Development Index also showed that China ranked eighth globally in promoting tourism development.

Foreign tourists favor tailor-made tours.

In interviews, reporters found that large foreign travel groups of dozens or even hundreds have become less common, and smaller boutique tours are becoming a popular option for foreign tourists to visit China. This has also led to new changes in the tourism industry.

In Chengdu, small groups of two to five people have become the main order for travel agencies. Compared with independent travel, such small groups tend to adopt a "one group, one car and one tour guide" model, which is more expensive and requires higher standards.

Along with the "exploding" inbound tourism, another profession has also become popular. Wu Xiaohua from Nanjing, who has worked in a travel agency for 10 years and has rich domestic tourism experience and crisis response ability, is now a full-time travel tailor, helping inbound tourists to customize unique travel plans.

These small groups of foreign tourists not only demand a higher level of travel experience, but are also more willing to deeply understand the lives of Chinese people. Local tour guides have been digging deeper into local unique tourism scenes.

There are also many foreign travelers who pursue the value for money, so travel agencies have tried to reduce tourists' expenses while maintaining service quality by organizing group tours.

Foreign tourism agencies to China "footprint" business opportunities

In the current wave of Chinese tourism, in addition to foreign tourists, travel agencies from North America and Europe have also been present, focusing on China's tourism market, discovering innovative projects and high-quality routes, actively promoting international tourism cooperation.

Over the past two days, a delegation of representatives from multiple well-known local travel agencies and airlines in New Zealand has visited Hubei Province. They have successively surveyed Beijing and Shanghai, with Mount Wudang as their final destination.

New Zealand travel agent: For New Zealand tourists, it's a great experience to actually go to China and learn about the culture and people of China, explore this beautiful place.

In Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, nearly 1,000 travel agents from North America, Europe and Southeast Asia have visited the Tianmen Mountain scenic area since June to experience the tourism resources and routes.

A group of Russian travel agencies, consisting of seven companies, has visited the Corner Mountain Scenic Area in Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province for a week to design multiple tourism projects based on the characteristics of Qinhuangdao, including The Great Wall Agreement, Coastline Water, Night Tour in the Mountains and Seas, and Sailing.

Russian delegation member: I haven't been to Beidaihe for a long time. The last time was in 2018, everything has become more beautiful here, and I think the tourists who come to Beidaihe will be very satisfied and leave good impressions.