Cultural immersion draws foreign tourists

For most travelers planning a trip to China, the itinerary writes itself: the Great Wall in Beijing, the Bund in Shanghai and the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, among others.

But for 26-year-old Luuk Rommel, his must-visit destination in China wasn't any of these iconic landmarks — it was the Dounan Flower Market in Kunming, Yunnan province.

Standing amid a sea of roses, lilies and orchids, Rommel, who is from the Netherlands, watched as traders haggled over prices and workers hurriedly packed bouquets for delivery across the country.

"This place is really big, and they even sell tulips here. I wonder whether these tulips are from the Netherlands," he said. "It's really fun to see all the flowers that we also have in the Netherlands."

The Netherlands is famous worldwide for its tulips and floral industry — indeed, Rommel himself had once worked in the business for over 10 years. "I even visited the electronic flower trading center here — it looks exactly like the ones back home," he added.

Rommel's journey represents a subtle but growing shift in how foreign tourists are experiencing China these days.

Minister of Culture and Tourism Sun Yeli said many foreigners are eager to visit China and experience the everyday life of its people. Taking high-speed trains, watching drone shows, experiencing traditional Chinese massage, wearing hanfu (traditional Chinese attire), and enjoying hotpot have become quintessential parts of experiencing life in China.

Gone are the days when ticking off famous landmarks from a guidebook sufficed. Today's international visitors are increasingly seeking something more elusive: authentic, personal connections with local life that go far beyond the one-size-fits-all sightseeing experience.

"China's profound and fascinating culture, combined with convenient entry measures and a strong international image, is inspiring more and more foreigners to develop a deep longing and anticipation for the country," said Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy.

This quest for cultural immersion has been particularly evident during the Spring Festival holiday. For an increasing number of international travelers, the appeal of China during this period is no longer just about seeing the celebrations, but about becoming a part of them.

China recorded over 1.31 million inbound foreign travelers during the nine-day Spring Festival holiday, with average daily numbers jumping 21.8 percent compared with last year's holiday period, as expanded visa-free policies and streamlined entry procedures transformed the nation's most cherished traditional celebration into a global tourism magnet.

The National Immigration Administration reported that 460,000 foreign visitors entered China under visa-free policies during the Feb 15-23 holiday, a 28.5 percent surge in daily averages from the 2025 Spring Festival. The figures mean that more than one in every three inbound international travelers benefited from the eased visa policy.

The evolution presents both opportunities and challenges for businesses along the tourism supply chain, and they are now racing to serve what industry insiders term "high-value customer segments".

Zhao Jia, general manager of Utour's inbound travel subsidiary U-believe, said that the inbound market during this year's holiday was characterized by a predominance of free independent travelers and backpackers.

Where operators once routinely organized groups of 20 to 30 travelers focused on business or conventional sightseeing of cultural relics, the market now increasingly demands six-person or eight-person family tours and customized small-group experiences, Zhao said.

Zhao noted that these smaller configurations allow for greater flexibility, deeper engagement with local culture, and more authentic interactions with Chinese communities.

At Renaissance Beijing Wangfujing Hotel on the second day of Spring Festival, several foreign guests gathered around tables in the restaurant, intently following hotel staff members as they learned the art of New Year picture rubbing — a traditional printmaking technique.

The scene was part of the hotel's specially curated "Intangible Cultural Heritage Hands-On" activities for Spring Festival: lantern painting on Day One, New Year picture rubbing on Day Two, floral crafts on Day Three and wind chime weaving on Day Four.

"We created these intangible cultural heritage projects so that guests could not only see but also create," said Fu Li, director of sales and marketing at the hotel. "Most inbound visitors come to experience traditional Chinese culture. They're heading to Wangfujing Street, the Forbidden City — the classic sites. We wanted to offer something that complements sightseeing with genuine participation."

The rise of small group travel is redrawing China's inbound tourism geography, with popular destinations shifting from traditional gateway cities like Beijing and Shanghai to second-tier and county-level cities, said industry data and travel operators.

Statistics from China's online travel platform Ctrip confirm the broadening map of inbound tourism, showing that Chengde and Zhangjiakou in Hebei province, along with Shenyang in Liaoning province, ranked among the top 10 cities for inbound visitor growth during Spring Festival, emerging as unexpected growth stars.

These second-tier cities, less familiar than Beijing or Shanghai, attracted visitors through distinctive cultural offerings and less crowded experiences, said Jiang Zhao, an associate researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.

Zhangjiakou, a co-host city of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, leveraged its ice and snow credentials, while Chengde's imperial mountain resort appealed to history-minded travelers seeking alternatives to better-known sites, Jiang added.

Even more striking is the penetration of inbound tourism into China's county-level cities. During the 2026 Spring Festival, 48 county-level cities recorded inbound visitor numbers that met the "A-level inbound tourism city" standard — defined as inbound tourists accounting for no less than 2.7 percent of total visitors, said Ctrip.

This is nearly double the 25 counties that met the same threshold during the 2023 Spring Festival, demonstrating the rapid geographic spread of international visitation beyond major urban centers.

Looking ahead, Zhao indicated that travel agencies plan to expand further into niche destinations including Guizhou province, Yunnan province and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, suggesting that the geographic diffusion of inbound tourism has further room to grow.

The surge of foreign visitors to China is reshaping the economics of the country's hotel industry, with operators increasingly defining inbound tourists as "high-value customer segments" due to their distinct booking behaviors and spending patterns.

Li Yukai, chief operating officer of Elong Hotel Technology, crunched the numbers behind the transformation. Foreign tourists typically book rooms more than 15 days in advance, compared with just three to seven days for domestic travelers. This advance commitment alters hotel revenue management dynamics.

"When a portion of rooms are locked in early by foreign guests, hotels gain significantly greater confidence in subsequent pricing decisions," Li said. "There's no need to discount in advance to drive occupancy — operators can hold firm and even raise rates incrementally."

This pricing power translates directly to bottom-line performance. At Shanghai Elong Hotel, foreign guest volume surged more than 300 percent in 2025, driving average daily rates up 12 percent and boosting overall revenue by 15 percent, according to property-level data.

Fu, from Renaissance Beijing Wangfujing Hotel, also said foreign guests are more willing to pay for experiences. During the Spring Festival holiday, the hotel's family rooms offering views of the Forbidden City sold out 15 days in advance.

The spending differential extends well beyond room rates. Fu observed that European and US guests' habits create significant incremental revenue for hotel food and beverage operations.

"Domestic guests return from a day of sightseeing exhausted and go straight to rest," he said. "But international guests would head to the bar for an evening drink. The boost to bar consumption is very significant."

Perhaps most strategically valuable, inbound tourism helps fill gaps in domestic travel patterns. The timing of foreign holidays complements China's domestic tourism calendar, creating more balanced occupancy throughout the year.

"Spring Festival is soon followed by Easter," Fu said. "The cycle of overseas long holidays forms a complementarity with China's holiday schedule."

Despite the explosive growth of inbound tourism during the recent Spring Festival holiday, industry insiders remain cautious about persistent challenges that must be addressed to sustain momentum.

James Liang, cofounder and chairman of Trip.com Group, said inbound tourism destinations are extending from first-tier cities into the broad hinterland. However, information gaps persist. "How to travel in these cities, what preparations should be made to receive foreign guests — this information is still lacking," he added.

Vice-Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping said during a news conference in February that localities are encouraged to introduce multilingual folklore maps, designed to help foreign travelers easily locate and access iconic experiences such as traditional temple fairs, time-honored brand shops and intangible cultural heritage markets.