In the first six months of 2026 China received 22.91 million foreign nationals, up 20.4 percent year on year, thanks to its visa-free policy which accounts for 77.7 percent of all foreign arrivals. Earlier this year, China announced that starting February 17, 2026 all ordinary passport holders from Canada and the United Kingdom can travel to its mainland for up to 30 days without a visa. The expansion in China’s unilateral visa-exemption program to include Canada and the UK follows recent visits to Beijing by leaders from the two countries as they seek to reset ties with the Asian country. According to China’s foreign ministry, the visa-free program expected to run until December 31, 2026 aims to foster people-to-people exchanges, the foundation for cross-cultural understanding, economic interdependence and peaceful diplomatic relations.

For Britain, which see China as an important tourist destination as well as a source market attempts to eliminate cross-border tourism barriers is certainly a step in the right direction. Data from the UK’s Office for National Statistics show around 620,000 British people travelled to China in 2024. According to VisitBritain, the UK’s national tourism agency, in the same year, the UK welcomed 463, 000 visits from China (41 percent were holiday visits, in line with the market average), generating a total expenditure of £723.8 million. In the coming years, a new report from VisitBritain which estimates china’s visitor market to be worth around £1.2 billion in terms of visitor spending, has forecast tourism from China to the UK to expand rapidly by 20 percent annually in spending to 2030.

Similarly, as Canada seeks to reset relations with Beijing, the newly implemented visa-free policy is expected to further facilitate the two-way travel with China. According to Canada’s foreign minister Anita Anand, the change is making ‘‘travel easier, supporting business exchanges, and strengthening people-to-people ties.’’ As part of efforts to further open up and attract foreign visitors after the COVID-19 pandemic, China on December 1, 2023 commenced the trial implementation of its unilateral visa-free entry policies for ordinary passport holders from 6 countries, namely Germany, France, Malaysia, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy. Over the period, the expanded visa-free policy has helped support China’s tourism industry growth.

Data from the National Immigration Administration show China experienced a record 697 million inbound and outbound crossings in 2025, representing a 14.2 percent year-on-year increase, as the expanded visa-free program facilitate international travels. The data further reveal that while international visitors made more than 82 million crossings in 2025, marking a 26.4 percent increase compared to 2024, over 73 percent of these travellers benefitted from China’s visa-free program – reaching a 49.5 percent year-on-year expansion. The inclusion of new members; Canada and the UK to China’s unilateral visa-free scheme which as of February this year had 50 participating countries including with 35 countries from Europe, 7 in Asia, 6 in Americas and 2 in Oceania will not only enhance people-to-people exchanges, especially as the world faces geopolitical tensions but also support broader economic benefits. According to UN Tourism, China in 2023 recovered its position as the top spender on international tourism with $196.5 billion, followed by the U.S., Germany, the UK, and France which contributed $150 billion, $112 billion, $110 billion and $49 billion, respectively. To add more, the latest Economic Impact Research (EIR) data from the World Travel & Tourism Council show in 2025, more than 68 million international visitors entered China, up 15.5 percent year on year, nearly three times the global growth rate of 5.4 percent. At the same time, international visitor spending expanded by 10.5 percent to $135 billion, surpassing pre-pandemic levels and significantly outperforming the global average growth of 3.2 percent.

highlights of the WTM Global Travel report highlights of the WTM Global Travel report suggest from 2024 to 2033 the share of Chinese households with purchasing power to embark on international travel is forecast to roughly double. Attributed to rising incomes and bulging middle-class consumers, China’s growth could add more than 60 million households to its existing population that can afford international travel. Interestingly, this figure represents just 2.3 percent of the country’s entire population, showing the Chinese market’s enormous potential for future growth. Additionally, while China, United States, Spain, Thailand and Turkey are forecast to be the top 5 destination markets in terms of visitor spend, by 2033 the Chinese market, depending on its growth trajectory and other factors including connectivity, could become double the size of the United States as a source market in terms of spending.

Since its reform and opening up in 1978 China as part of its development strategy has leveraged its cultural and tourism sector to stimulate consumption, foster job creation and significantly improve the country’s economic structure by integrating tourism into other industries to create new demand and business models. During its 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), Beijing in an efforts to build China into a tourism powerhouse seeks to attract 190 million inbound tourists annually by 2030 targeting more than $150 billion inbound tourism spending a year over the period. As China introduces various measures including expanded visa-free scheme, infrastructure development (high-speed rail, airports and smart cities), and integrating smart technology into travel experience, in a bid to drive inbound tourism, this effort, together with contribution from other major destinations and source markets is crucial to global tourism recovery.

In 2025 an estimated 1.52 billion international tourists were recorded worldwide, nearly 60 million more than in 2024, marking 4 percent year-on-year growth. Reflecting a closer return to the 5 percent pre-pandemic growth trends, the latest World Tourism Barometer by UN Tourism attributes the positive results to several factors, namely strong demand, robust performance from large source markets, ongoing recovery of destinations in Asia and the Pacific, expanded air connectivity and enhanced visa facilitation. With international tourism in 2026 expected to be driven by solid consumer demand, enhanced air connectivity, and growing outbound travel from emerging markets, as hinted by UN Tourism, the Chinese market could play an indispensable role in shaping global tourism, especially now and into the future.