At a press conference on 7 February the Yunnan Entry-Exit Border-Inspection Service reported that 7.86 million travellers from South and Southeast Asia entered the province in 2025—accounting for 52.2 percent of all inbound traffic and cementing Yunnan’s status as the primary landing point for the region.
Officials credited the boom to two pilot schemes: a 240-hour visa-free transit window that now covers Kunming Changshui International Airport and multiple land crossings, and the expansion of the Xishuangbanna regional visa-exemption programme, which lets tour groups roam the tropical prefecture for up to 15 days without needing a Chinese visa.
For visitors whose plans stretch beyond Yunnan’s pilot zones—or for companies shepherding staff across several Chinese provinces—VisaHQ’s China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) offers a quick way to confirm eligibility, compile the right documents and track applications in real time, ensuring travel remains seamless even as regulations evolve.
![Yunnan emerges as gateway of choice for Southeast Asian visitors under China’s expanding visa-waiver regime]()
Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore led the visa-free league table, while India and Indonesia posted the fastest growth following aggressive joint-marketing campaigns by local tourism bureaux and e-commerce giant Trip.com. The policy nitrogen-boosted the province’s hotel occupancy, which climbed 15 percent year-on-year, and catalysed a wave of foreign-invested eco-lodges along the Mekong corridor.
For multinationals the numbers highlight Yunnan’s emergence as a realistic venue for regional sales meetings and supply-chain inspections. The provincial government offers tax rebates on MICE (meetings-incentives-conferences-exhibitions) spending exceeding RMB 2 million and has opened a one-stop ‘Green Channel’ desk at Kunming airport to fast-track equipment and display-materials importations.
Cross-border traders have also benefited: bilateral fruit and vegetable flows between Yunnan and ASEAN climbed 16 percent in 2025, according to Kunming Customs, thanks in part to simplified carnet procedures and extended customs-office hours at key land checkpoints such as Mohan and Ruili.
Officials credited the boom to two pilot schemes: a 240-hour visa-free transit window that now covers Kunming Changshui International Airport and multiple land crossings, and the expansion of the Xishuangbanna regional visa-exemption programme, which lets tour groups roam the tropical prefecture for up to 15 days without needing a Chinese visa.
For visitors whose plans stretch beyond Yunnan’s pilot zones—or for companies shepherding staff across several Chinese provinces—VisaHQ’s China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) offers a quick way to confirm eligibility, compile the right documents and track applications in real time, ensuring travel remains seamless even as regulations evolve.
Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore led the visa-free league table, while India and Indonesia posted the fastest growth following aggressive joint-marketing campaigns by local tourism bureaux and e-commerce giant Trip.com. The policy nitrogen-boosted the province’s hotel occupancy, which climbed 15 percent year-on-year, and catalysed a wave of foreign-invested eco-lodges along the Mekong corridor.
For multinationals the numbers highlight Yunnan’s emergence as a realistic venue for regional sales meetings and supply-chain inspections. The provincial government offers tax rebates on MICE (meetings-incentives-conferences-exhibitions) spending exceeding RMB 2 million and has opened a one-stop ‘Green Channel’ desk at Kunming airport to fast-track equipment and display-materials importations.
Cross-border traders have also benefited: bilateral fruit and vegetable flows between Yunnan and ASEAN climbed 16 percent in 2025, according to Kunming Customs, thanks in part to simplified carnet procedures and extended customs-office hours at key land checkpoints such as Mohan and Ruili.
