Washington —
After a strict COVID-19 lockdown that shattered its tourism industry between 2020 and 2022, China is trying to revive the market by making it easier for foreigners to visit the country.
Under a new set of visa application requirements announced this week, applicants only must report one year of travel history instead of five years, as previously required.
“The improvement involves seven major items and 15 sub-items, concerning mainly the applicants’ educational background, family information and previous travel history,” said Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, at a press briefing on Wednesday.
In addition, until now, visa applicants had to report their entire educational background. The new guidelines require only the highest degree achieved.
The changes are expected to shorten the time it takes to fill out and process visa applications.
“The foreign ministry will continue to facilitate people-to-people exchange between China and other countries and serve high-quality development and high-level opening up,” Mao said.
More than 65 million international visitors traveled to China in 2019, yielding the country nearly $900 billion in revenue, according to China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
There has been no official data about foreign travelers visiting China from 2020 to 2022, when the country enforced a strict COVID-19 quarantine regime and shut all domestic and foreign travel.
