China’s inbound tourism booms over May Day as multi-language services and e-payments pay off

China’s National Immigration Administration reported that 11.279 million cross-border movements were processed between 1 and 5 May, a 3.5 percent increase over the 2025 holiday period, while foreign arrivals using visa-free programmes jumped 14.7 percent to 436,000. People’s Daily highlighted the trend on 11 May, noting that inbound visitors are no longer coming just for iconic sights but to experience everyday Chinese life—from ordering late-night barbecue on food-delivery apps to renting Hanfu costumes for selfies at heritage sites. A flurry of policy tweaks lies behind the growth. In March, the Ministry of Commerce and eight other agencies issued measures to “promote travel-service exports and expand inbound consumption”, mandating clearer multi-language signage at airports, high-speed-rail stations and shopping districts, and pushing popular apps to add full English interfaces and allow foreign card binding. Combined with the extension of 15-day unilateral visa exemptions for France, Germany and six other European countries, the steps have made China one of the easiest major markets for short-stay visitors.



For travellers from countries that still need an entry permit, getting the paperwork in order has become far less daunting thanks to digital facilitators such as VisaHQ. The company’s online portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) guides users through each visa category—tourist, business or long-term—offers real-time application tracking and highlights the latest rule changes, ensuring that even amid rapid policy shifts visitors can secure the correct documentation quickly and confidently.

Travel-platform Ctrip says Russia, Japan and South Korea were the top three source markets over the holiday, with Russian arrivals up 120 percent year-on-year thanks to the bilateral visa-free agreement that entered into force in 2025. “Fly + cruise” itineraries also took off: many Europeans landed in Shanghai and boarded domestic cruise ships to ports along the Yangtze River Delta. For businesses the momentum signals a return of on-site client meetings, factory audits and trade-fair attendance at pre-pandemic scale. Hotels in exhibition cities such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen reported average occupancy above 90 percent, allowing corporate-rate negotiations to resume. Retailers, meanwhile, are scrambling to train staff on VAT refund procedures now that tourist shopping is rebounding. Companies hosting foreign guests should ensure that QR-based payment options are visible and that venue Wi-Fi is compatible with overseas phone numbers; many visitors rely on SMS codes to activate Alipay’s Tour Pass and similar wallets. With competition for talent intensifying, cities like Hangzhou are packaging these “soft infrastructure” upgrades into their expatriate recruitment pitches, underscoring the link between visitor experience and long-term mobility attractiveness.