China cruise tourism revitalization initiative: ”Foreign tourists allowed to enter without visas” = South Korean report

The Chinese government has expanded visa-free entry to foreign tourists arriving on cruise ships. The COVID-19 outbreak has caused a sharp decline in the Chinese cruise tourism market, which once reached 4.2 million people.
This is interpreted as a "bold measure" as the country has not yet recovered from the economic downturn. On the 15th, the National Immigration Administration of China announced that it would exempt foreign tourists from entering the country on cruise ships from needing a visa.
The new rules will come into effect on the 15th of this month and apply to groups of two or more people visiting using travel packages sold by Chinese travel agencies.
The National Immigration Administration said in an official press release on the same day that "the crew visiting China
"The visa exemption for tourists is part of the reform and opening-up measures to promote China's cruise industry," he explained. The cities where visa-free entry is permitted for cruise tourists are Tianjin, Dalian, and Shanghai.
Tourists arriving from these ports can travel 15 km to the capital, Beijing, including the relevant provinces.
The reason why the Chinese government issued visa-free entry cards to cruise tourists is that the cruise tourism market has been slow to recover since the COVID-19 outbreak.
According to the Ministry of Transport of China and other sources, the number of cruise tourists visiting China reached 2.21 million in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, but fell to 107,000 and 95% last year.
Prior to this measure, the Chinese government had taken note of the example of Shanghai, which exempted cruise tourists from visa requirements in 2016 and enjoyed a 10% increase in visitors that year.
We understand. We hope that this measure will have a significant effect on increasing the number of cruise tourists who stay an average of 33 hours at ports of call, even in areas that are already visa-free, such as Tianjin and Guangzhou.
In an interview with China's public broadcaster CCTV, Tianjin Municipal Border Procuratorate Deputy Chief said, "Considering the average processing time of about five minutes, it takes a considerable amount of time for a large cruise ship with a maximum capacity of 4,000 people to enter the country.
It will take some time," he said, adding that he hopes that visa-free entry will increase travel demand to ports of call and nearby cities.