(Yicai) Aug. 5 -- Chongqing, Guizhou province, and other Chinese regions have introduced multiple incentive policies to boost overseas visitor numbers, with some offering greater rewards for tourists coming from emerging markets.

The Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism recently offered qualifying travel agencies rewards of up to CNY100 (USD14.81) per inbound tourist drawn to the city. Those that bring 1,000 or more visitors this year, meeting certain stay duration requirements, will be eligible for subsidies of CNY30 (USD4.44) per person. 

In addition, Chongqing will double the rates for tourists coming from countries and regions from which the city welcomed fewer than 50,000 guests last year, with a cap of CNY150,000 (USD22,210) per agency.

China received over 22.91 million foreign visitors in the first half of this year, up 20 percent from a year earlier, with visa-free guests accounting for 78 percent of the total, according to data released by the National Immigration Administration.

Inbound travel is increasingly characterized by smaller tour groups, rising demand for customized itineraries, and a younger demographic, said the head of a travel agency specializing in such tourism. In addition, the number of visitors from Russia, Central Asia, Africa, and other emerging markets has also increased, the person noted.

In April, Guizhou introduced a tiered cash reward system based on the annual number of overseas visitors staying overnight, offering up to CNY70 per tourist to travel agencies with no cap on the total number of clients. It also offers up to CNY80 per person for group tours organized from abroad, based on size, itinerary, project category, and others.

In addition, Shandong province extended the validity of its incentive policy, under which visitors who stay in the province for two nights or more are eligible for various rewards, to three years from one year. The policy includes daily subsidies of up to CNY12 per person for visitors from nearby markets and up to CNY20 per person for those from farther areas.

Hunan, Yunnan, Hainan, Henan, Sichuan, Fujian, and Anhui provinces, as well as Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, have also introduced similar measures.

Domestic tourism has entered a growth bottleneck, making inbound tourism a rich new vein and a key focus for regions seeking to break through that bottleneck, said Chen Qiankang, president of the Sichuan Tour Guide Association. The increase in foreign visitors has benefited from China's visa-free policies and the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as its economic prosperity, rapid growth in foreign trade, the opening of the overseas study market, social stability, and stable prices, he stressed.

It has also benefited from incentives and support that local governments have extended to market players, Chen pointed out.

China received 154.5 million inbound visitors last year, up 17 percent from the previous year, according to official statistics. Spending by such tourists surged 39 percent to USD131.1 billion.

According to China's 15th Five-Year Plan, the country aims to raise the number of inbound visitors to 190 million by 2030.

Editor: Martin Kadiev