By Su Min, Ao Rong
After Guangzhou's policy of 24-hour transit without visa and Shanghai's policy of 48-hour, Beijing also announced its policy of 72-hour transit without visa and the number of countries applicable to such policy in Beijing port increased to 45.
Beijing Municipal Information Office officially released the rules for the implementation of the policy of 72-hour transit without visa for some countries on December 5. From January 1, 2013, Beijing will implement the policy of 72-hour transit without visa for foreigners with the third-country visa and air ticket from 45 countries such as the US, UK and France.
"Transit without visa" means that according to the laws and relevant rules in the transit country, foreign national needs not to apply for visa in the transit country when he transits a country from one country to the destination country and he can stay for a while in the transit country.
Promoting the inbound tourism market
Loose visa policy is a general rule in counties and main tourism cities in the world to stimulate the inbound tourism market. The number of inbound tourists is a core index for the international attractiveness of a city. The policy of transit without visa is implemented in Singapore, Dubai, Malaysia, Thailand, etc., with different time limits, which plays a great role in promoting the local tourism and airline industry. It is learned that after the visa-free policy was applied for the Chinese tourists in Jeju Island of the South Korea, the number of Chinese tourists to Jeju Island reached 5 times of that in the same period in previous years.
The number of inbound tourists in London and Paris in 2011 reached 20.1 and 18.1 million respectively, accounting for 20 percent and 43 percent of the total number of tourists. However, the number of inbound tourists in Beijing last year was 5 million, but it only accounted for 3 percent of the total number, so there was a significant gap.
Departments concerned in Beijing have been applying for "the policy of properly extending the time limit for transit without visa for some foreigners in Beijing port" for years. Presently, some cities in China like Shanghai and Guangzhou implement the policy of transit without visa, but the policy is restricted from one air port to another air port in some countries.
Wang yue, deputy director of Beijing Municipal Tourism Administrative Board says that proper extension of the time limit for transit without visa for some foreigners will strongly promote the development of tourism and the relevant industries in Beijing, stimulate the consumption such as tourist transport, restaurant , shopping, hotel and entertainment, drive the development of industries like conference, exhibition, award, business and airline, and play a positive role in promoting the industrial optimization and upgrading, stimulating economic increase, expanding foreign exchange and cooperation, increasing the number of various headquarters in Beijing, bettering the quality of city service, constructing harmonious society and speeding up the construction of global tourism city.
Stimulating tourism consumption
Beijing Municipal Tourism Administrative Board makes estimation that the number of inbound tourists in Beijing will be doubled in 3 years, increasing from 5 million presently to 10 million. The policy of transit without visa does not only increase the number of inbound people, but also increase the consumption level. Presently, inbound foreigners stay for 3 days and 4 nights and spend $1000 on average, which differs greatly from RMB 1000 yuan spent by the domestic tourists on average.
Last year, the foreign currency earnings in tourism service in Beijing reached $5.4 billion and there is an objective of $10 billion of foreign currency earnings each year during the period of the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan". Wang Yue says with the policy of transit without visa, it is estimated that such an objective will be achieved in advance.
Where will the foreign tourists transiting through Beijing go after entering China? According the survey report for the inbound tourism market in April and May this year, among the interviewed foreign tourists, most are for business, accounting for 36.6 percent and the next for sightseeing, accounting for 35.5 percent. Among tourists taking interest in 72-hour transit without visa, most are interested in sightseeing, accounting for over a half, with shopping for 35 percent and food for 21 percent.
The policy of transit without visa can increase the city consumption of inbound tourists, so it will offer an opportunity for relieving employment pressure and increase a lot of direct and indirect employment opportunities. The reporter learns during the interview that Beijing is further diversifying its distinguishing tourism products for inbound tourists and begins to design some individualized products based on its historical culture and Beijing-style culture for transit tourists like one-day two-day and three-day tour. For example, according the routine of international airlines, over 1/3 transit tourists arrive at Beijing at night, so how to diversify the night consumption in Beijing like food, entertainment, performance and shopping becomes the key for designing tourism products.
