The Chinese authorities have said that the country plans to permit visa-free entry for passport holders of Switzerland.
The move comes in an attempt to attract more travelers from Switzerland, with the authorities saying that the decision will have a positive impact on the economy and the travel and tourism sector, VisaGuide.World reports.
As Bloomberg explains, the announcement regarding China’s plans to soon allow travelers from Switzerland to enter without a visa was made ahead of a gathering of business leaders as well as policymakers in Davos.
China’s travel and tourism sector has been strongly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the country keeping lockdowns in place for months.
Now that everything is back to normal and there is no longer any risk, China wants to promote travel to the country and attract as many visitors as possible.
As part of its move to help revive its travel and tourism sector, China has already lifted the visa requirements for some countries and eased the visa application rules for some countries.
China introduced visa-free entry for passport holders of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia on December 1, 2023, in an attempt to become a more appealing destination for these travelers.
However, visa-free travel for these three countries will not be permanent. The Chinese authorities said that this visa-free regime to travelers from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia will only apply until November 30, 2024.
Still, in case the regime proves to be effective and attracts a high number of visitors from these countries until November, China might decide to extend the scheme and ultimately apply a visa-free travel regime permanently.
While the authorities will take into account figures since the visa rule was lifted until November, visa-free travel from these countries has already proven to be effective.
Data show that around 118,000 visitors from the six countries mentioned above entered China visa-free in December 2023 alone. The majority of those who entered China visa-free last month did so for tourism and business purposes.
As part of its plan to attract more visitors, China has also simplified the visa application rules for American tourists.
Americans applying for a Chinese tourist visa are now exempt from the requirement to submit roundtrip proof, proof of accommodation, and their itinerary or invitation letter.
China has also lifted and relaxed visa-on-arrival requirements for some categories of travelers. Since January 11, some travelers have been able to apply for a visa extension without leaving the country. Moreover, foreign travelers transiting from nine airports in the country are exempted from the examination protocols.