China grants visa-free entry to ASEAN tour groups visiting Xishuangbanna

China has allowed tour groups from ASEAN countries to visit Xishuangbanna in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province without a visa for up to six days, the National Immigration Administration announced on Monday.

Starting from February 10, tourist groups from the 10 ASEAN nations – Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia – are permitted visa-free entry and exit as groups via Xishuangbanna Gasa International Airport, Mohan Railway, and the Mohan Highway, according to the announcement.

Tourists must remain within Xishuangbanna’s administrative region, with a maximum stay of six days, the administration said.

An employee from Kanghui Travel Agency, which is based in Xishuangbanna, told the Global Times that it learned the news on Monday and is drawing up policies to welcome tourists from those ASEAN countries.

The number of inbound tourists has been growing rapidly since this year with a noticeable increase in tourists from Southeast Asia, said the employee. He noted that the effects of the new visa-free policy may not be immediately apparent, but are expected to be positive.

This policy is an important measure to expand China’s opening-up in a structured manner and bolster Yunnan’s role as a regional hub for South and Southeast Asia, said an official from the National Immigration Administration. This initiative will boost tourism in Southwest China, facilitate exchanges between people from China and other countries, and strengthen China-ASEAN strategic cooperation.

Going forward, the National Immigration Administration will continue to advance immigration management reforms, attract more foreigners to travel and conduct business in China, further stimulate inbound tourism growth, and support China’s broader opening-up and economic growth, the official said.

The new visa-free policy for these countries is being piloted in Xishuangbanna, which borders Laos and Myanmar, and aims to welcome more tourists from Southeast Asian countries and stimulate people-to-people exchange between China and those nations, according to Gu Xiaosong, dean of the ASEAN Research Institute at Hainan Tropical Ocean University.

Apart from boosting people-to-people exchanges, this new visa-free policy is also likely to push for economic cooperation in the border area between China and ASEAN nations, said Gu.

At the end of 2024, China announced a significant relaxation of its visa-free transit policy, extending the permitted stay for eligible foreign travelers from the original 72 and 144 hours to 240 hours, or 10 days, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Source៖ Global Times