Tourists visit a popular tourism spot in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on April 16, 2023. Photo: VCG

China recorded 2.95 million inbound and outbound trips by foreigners in the first two months of 2024, official data showed on Friday, pointing to a rise in foreigners' willingness to visit China amid the country's efforts to make tourism more convenient.

With the approaching Qingming Festival holidays (from April 4 to 6), also known as Tomb-Sweeping Festival, travel platform data showed that the number of bookings for inbound travel to China has surged. As of March 20, the number of bookings for inbound travel during the three-day holidays has risen by 153 percent year-on-year, according to data sent to the Global Times by domestic online travel agency Trip.com.

In the first two months of 2024, China recorded 2.95 million inbound and outbound trips made by foreigners, a notable increase of 2.3 times compared with the previous period and equivalent to 41.5 percent of the level prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Shi Zeyi, an official with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said at a press conference in Beijing on Friday.

The willingness of foreigners to visit China has increased, partly thanks to a series of support measures including visa-free policies and easing of problems for foreign visitors like payment hurdles, according to the official.

In the latest development, from March 14 to November 30, 2024, citizens from six European countries - Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg - are able to visit China for business, sight-seeing, transit and other purposes for up to 15 days without having to apply for a visa.

TUI Cruises, a cruise line based in Germany, plans to organize trips for 10,000 travelers to China between February and April. The luxury cruise ship Europa berthed at the Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal on Feb 21, becoming the first foreign cruise ship to arrive in China since the adjustment of anti-pandemic measures. This marks the resumption of inbound travelers by cruise ships, Shi said.

In addition to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, Shangri-la in Southwest China's Yunnan Province, Zhangjiajie in Central China's Hunan Province and Suzhou in East China's Jiangsu Province also reported notable growth in inbound travel bookings, Trip.com said, adding that Shangri-la and Zhangjiajie both saw 10-fold year-on-year growth.

During the holidays, the amount of inbound travel bookings from the six European countries with visa-free policies jumped by 359 percent year-on-year, according to Trip.com.

Global Times