Bid to attract more visitors from abroad
China is aiming to attract more overseas tourists by expanding a 72-hour visa-free policy for foreigners and launching more promotional websites in a variety of languages.
Officials are considering measures to expedite visa processing and develop the system of visa-free stays for international transit passengers, the State Council said in a guideline published on Thursday.
The policy is already operating in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Kunming, Chengdu, Chongqing, Shenyang, Dalian, Guilin and Xi'an.
At the same time, the country plans to extend its global reach by setting up tourism websites with more information in more languages.
Officials hope the moves will help to improve its disappointing inbound tourism figures.
Outbound tourism is booming, but the inbound sector has seen declines in visitor numbers and the amount of money spent by visitors.
Beijing received 2.36 million overseas visitors from January to July, a drop of 5.9 percent compared with the same period last year, according to the capital's statistics bureau.
The China Tourism Academy said Chinese tourists spent $47 billion more overseas than foreign visitors spent in China in the first half of the year. This means China has the largest tourism trade deficit of any country.