BEIJING, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- China welcomes foreign tourists to join China's celebration of the Spring Festival and experience the joy of the Chinese New Year, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday.
Guo made the remarks at a regular press briefing when asked to comment on the trend of "China Travel."
According to reports, the General Office of China's State Council released a list of measures to foster new growth drivers to boost spending in the culture and tourism sectors. One of the measures is to improve inbound travel policies, including gradually rolling out unilateral visa-free policies to more countries.
China's visa exemption policies have given a boost to inbound travel. Since the start of the year, "China Travel" has kept trending, and a good number of foreign tourists spent their New Year's Eve in China. Some travel agencies estimate that the number of travel bookings by foreign tourists for the Spring Festival period this year will increase by 203 percent year on year compared with 2024.
Guo said that as China includes more countries in its visa waiver program and improves facilitation measures, the number of foreign tourist arrivals has continued to rise.
In 2024, the number of inbound and outbound journeys by foreign nationals stood at 64.88 million, up by 82.9 percent year on year. Among them, 20.12 million entered China visa-free, up by 112.3 percent year on year. During the just concluded New Year holiday, arrivals of foreign nationals grew by 34 percent year on year, according to the spokesperson.
Guo said the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Snake is half a month away. It is the first Spring Festival since the inscription of the festival on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
"We welcome foreign tourists to join China's celebration of the Spring Festival, experience the joy of the Chinese New Year, feel the warmth of Chinese hospitality, and usher in an auspicious Year of the Snake," said Guo. ■