The National Immigration Administration (NIA) said on 6 May that Chinese border-inspection officers processed 11.279 million inbound and outbound movements during the 1–5 May break, a 3.5 percent rise on last year. Foreign nationals accounted for 1.255 million of the total, up 12.5 percent year-on-year. Strikingly, 436,000 of those foreign travellers entered China without a visa, an increase of 14.7 percent. Officials credited the spike to Beijing’s unilateral 30-day visa-free programme, now covering 47 countries, and to recent reciprocity deals with Canada, the United Kingdom and Russia. The figures confirm that business-travel demand is rebounding ahead of schedule. Airlines have already announced additional summer frequencies on Shanghai–Paris, Beijing–Toronto and Guangzhou–London routes to capture the momentum. Travel managers should expect tighter seat availability around China’s upcoming Dragon Boat Festival (8–10 June) and lock in flexible fares early.
![May-Day Holiday Sees 1.128 Million Foreign Entries as Visa-Free Arrivals Jump 14.7 Percent]()
Companies trying to keep pace with China’s evolving visa landscape can lean on VisaHQ for end-to-end support: the service clarifies eligibility, handles paperwork and provides live status updates, sparing travellers and HR teams the consulate queues. Explore how it works at https://www.visahq.com/china/
NIA added that average queue times at major airports stayed below 30 minutes thanks to 1,700 newly installed e-gates and real-time passenger-flow algorithms that redeploy officers during peaks. Corporations should encourage frequent travellers to enrol in the fast-pass programme, which is now open to passport holders from 30 visa-free countries. While the data paint a rosy picture, authorities reminded visitors that mainland China still requires accommodation registration within 24 hours. HR teams hosting large meetings must coordinate with hotels to avoid compliance lapses that could jeopardise the company’s invitation privileges.
Companies trying to keep pace with China’s evolving visa landscape can lean on VisaHQ for end-to-end support: the service clarifies eligibility, handles paperwork and provides live status updates, sparing travellers and HR teams the consulate queues. Explore how it works at https://www.visahq.com/china/
NIA added that average queue times at major airports stayed below 30 minutes thanks to 1,700 newly installed e-gates and real-time passenger-flow algorithms that redeploy officers during peaks. Corporations should encourage frequent travellers to enrol in the fast-pass programme, which is now open to passport holders from 30 visa-free countries. While the data paint a rosy picture, authorities reminded visitors that mainland China still requires accommodation registration within 24 hours. HR teams hosting large meetings must coordinate with hotels to avoid compliance lapses that could jeopardise the company’s invitation privileges.
