Beijing sees 61% surge in inbound tourists in Q1

BEIJING -- Beijing reported a surge in inbound tourism in the first quarter of 2025, as the Chinese capital ramps up its efforts to improve travel and payment convenience for visitors and diversify its tourism experiences.

The city received 891,000 inbound tourists in the January-March period, up 61.3 percent year on year, with inbound tourism continuing to heat up following China's further relaxation of its visa-free transit policy.

According to data released by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism on Tuesday, visitors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan totaled 147,000 in the first quarter of 2025, up 32 percent year on year. Beijing received 744,000 foreign tourists, with that figure surging 68.7 percent and accounting for 83.5 percent of all inbound visitors to the city.

To boost inbound tourism, Beijing has launched one-stop comprehensive service centers for arriving tourists at its two airports. It is also offering more convenient payment and telecommunication services.

Additionally, the city is providing a greater number of in-depth travel products to allow inbound tourists to visit more parts of the city, rather than just its most famous landmarks such as the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and the Temple of Heaven.

In its next step, Beijing plans to enhance its entire tourism service chain -- covering areas such as customs clearance, transportation, accommodation, sightseeing, shopping and payments -- as it seeks to build itself into China's top inbound tourism destination.