China has kicked-off 2026 with a clear vote of confidence from international travellers. Data released late on 18 January by the Ministry of Public Security show 829,000 foreign nationals entered the mainland during the three-day New-Year holiday. Of those, 292,000—35.8 % more than a year earlier—took advantage of one of Beijing’s fast-expanding visa-free or transit-without-visa schemes.
The surge is the first hard evidence that last year’s decision to prolong 15- and 30-day unilateral visa waivers for 45-plus countries, and to stretch the 240-hour transit-visa-free programme to 65 ports, is paying dividends. Online travel agent Qunar said non-Chinese passport-holders booked flights to 97 mainland cities, signalling that secondary destinations such as Chengdu, Xi’an and Guilin are successfully marketing themselves with a blend of cultural immersion and digital-payment tutorials.
Local airports have raced to add multilingual signage, overseas-card payment terminals and AI chatbots to guide newcomers through health-declaration kiosks and ride-hailing apps. Multinational employers welcome the trend because it removes much of the administrative friction when dispatching auditors, technicians or sales teams at short notice—though mobility managers still need to remind staff that visa-free entry bars any form of paid work and that overstays incur fines of up to RMB 10,000.
![China’s inbound tourism roars back as visa-free arrivals jump 35.8 %]()
Travellers and global-mobility coordinators looking for a reliable way to navigate China’s ever-evolving entry rules can lean on VisaHQ’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/china/). The service consolidates the latest visa-waiver policies, pre-screens eligibility and, when a formal visa is required, manages the application logistics end-to-end—complete with automated alerts that flag rule changes and renewal deadlines for corporate travel teams.
Tourism economists expect the rebound to ripple far beyond airlines and hotels. Consultancy Ctrip Research predicts 38 million foreign visitors in 2026—around 60 % of the 2019 peak—enough to restore route profitability and support Beijing’s ambition to pivot towards services exports. Airlines have already announced extra frequencies on Seoul–Chengdu, Kuala Lumpur–Hangzhou and Vancouver–Shanghai for the spring season.
For global-mobility teams the take-away is twofold: China is once again an accessible short-trip destination, but the Z-visa and work-permit route remains compulsory for assignments of any duration that involve remunerated activity.
The surge is the first hard evidence that last year’s decision to prolong 15- and 30-day unilateral visa waivers for 45-plus countries, and to stretch the 240-hour transit-visa-free programme to 65 ports, is paying dividends. Online travel agent Qunar said non-Chinese passport-holders booked flights to 97 mainland cities, signalling that secondary destinations such as Chengdu, Xi’an and Guilin are successfully marketing themselves with a blend of cultural immersion and digital-payment tutorials.
Local airports have raced to add multilingual signage, overseas-card payment terminals and AI chatbots to guide newcomers through health-declaration kiosks and ride-hailing apps. Multinational employers welcome the trend because it removes much of the administrative friction when dispatching auditors, technicians or sales teams at short notice—though mobility managers still need to remind staff that visa-free entry bars any form of paid work and that overstays incur fines of up to RMB 10,000.
Travellers and global-mobility coordinators looking for a reliable way to navigate China’s ever-evolving entry rules can lean on VisaHQ’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/china/). The service consolidates the latest visa-waiver policies, pre-screens eligibility and, when a formal visa is required, manages the application logistics end-to-end—complete with automated alerts that flag rule changes and renewal deadlines for corporate travel teams.
Tourism economists expect the rebound to ripple far beyond airlines and hotels. Consultancy Ctrip Research predicts 38 million foreign visitors in 2026—around 60 % of the 2019 peak—enough to restore route profitability and support Beijing’s ambition to pivot towards services exports. Airlines have already announced extra frequencies on Seoul–Chengdu, Kuala Lumpur–Hangzhou and Vancouver–Shanghai for the spring season.
For global-mobility teams the take-away is twofold: China is once again an accessible short-trip destination, but the Z-visa and work-permit route remains compulsory for assignments of any duration that involve remunerated activity.
