(Yicai) Nov. 27 -- The decision to introduce a visa-free policy for six countries will help China's inbound tourism market to recover, according to industry insiders.

The news is quite uplifting and positive for inbound tourism, Zhou Weihong, vice general manager at Shanghai Chunqiu International Travel Agency Group, told Yicai. The new policy will be very convenient for tourists and business visitors, she added, noting that an increase in inbound tourism will also boost consumption, including the transportation, catering, accommodation, and shopping sectors.

Citizens of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia holding regular passports can visit China for up to 15 days without needing to apply for a visa between Dec. 1 and Nov. 30 next year, Mao Ning, spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced on Nov. 24.

"We are quite optimistic about the future of inbound tourism after the introduction of this new policy," Zhou noted.

As of 9.00 p.m. on Nov. 24, the number of overseas users searching for trips to China on online booking app Trip.Com increased significantly. In addition, Trip.Com's China Travel Guide 2023, a page for foreign tourists intending to visit China, recorded an over 30 percent jump in visits from the previous day.

China has huge potential for inbound tourism, said Jane Sun, chief executive at Trip.Com Group. Increasing the economic output from inbound tourism to the international average, or 1.5 percent of a country's gross domestic product, will bring at least CNY1.3 trillion (USD182 billion), she noted.

Inbound tourism has recovered at a slower pace compared to domestic and outbound tourism.

In the first half of the year, China received 477,800 inbound tourists, compared with 8.6 million in the same period of 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic, data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism showed. According to data from Trip.Com, Malaysia and Germany are among China's top 10 inbound tourist sources in the first 10 months of the year.

The Chinese government introduced measures to optimize the development of inbound tourism this year. The National Immigration Administration carries out visa businesses at 99 opened ports across 77 Chinese cities while optimizing visa-free transit policies and regional visa-free entries.

In response to China's visa-free policy, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced on Nov. 26 that the country would offer Chinese citizens the possibility of visiting Malaysia without a visa for stays of up to 30 days from next month.

Editors: Liao Shumin, Futura Costaglione