Foreign tourism in China well below pre-pandemic levels, strikes at wider economy

The slow recovery of China’s tourism industry will have wider implications for foreign investment and diplomacy, experts say

The number of foreign tourists visiting China is a fraction of pre-pandemic levels, with the sector relying on domestic travel to survive

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The slow recovery of the tourism sector in China after the pandemic is set to have wider implications for the economy. Illustration: Brian Wang

Published: 6:00am, 7 Oct 2023Updated: 9:29am, 9 Oct 2023

Spanish tourist Maxim Gomez climbed the Great Wall in Beijing in May, something he could not do during the pandemic’s border closures. However, his visit was more difficult than expected.

The exchange student in Hong Kong applied for a one-year multiple-entry tourist visa for mainland China in April, three months after the borders reopened. When he passed through immigration at Beijing Capital International Airport, Gomez realised straight away that he needed to make some hard adjustments.

“Many cities require you to book in advance on WeChat not only to visit famous tourist sites, [but] even for big parks, and the codes were sent over for mainland SIM cards,” said Gomez, 24, who could not obtain such a card because he does not read Chinese.

Even in cosmopolitan Shanghai, he was rejected by taxi drivers and could not order food – in both cases due to the language barrier.

“Restaurant owners said they don’t even bother to hire English-speaking waiters because it’s not really necessary any more,” he said. “There are fewer foreigners than before.”

Stories such as Gomez’s, along with visa obstacles and fears of China itself, are keeping many people offshore. Their reluctance to visit has slowed the post-pandemic recovery of the nation’s inbound tourism sector, which has in turn hobbled a multi-trillion yuan service industry. This has had knock-on effects for attracting foreign direct investment inflows, which have fallen but remain key to economic growth.

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Foreign tourism in China well below pre-pandemic levels, strikes at wider economy

The slow recovery of China’s tourism industry will have wider implications for foreign investment and diplomacy, experts say The number of foreign tourists visiting China is a fraction of pre-pandemic levels, with the sector relying on domestic travel to survive

The slow recovery of China’s tourism industry will have wider implications for foreign investment and diplomacy, experts say

The number of foreign tourists visiting China is a fraction of pre-pandemic levels, with the sector relying on domestic travel to survive