East China’s Hangzhou City began to offer 72-hour visa-free entry for international transit passengers on Monday, a move to boost tourism and business.
The policy covers travelers from 51
countries only. They can enjoy a 72-hour stay in Zhejiang Province
after entering the country via Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport,
providing they have third country visas and onward tickets to leave for a
third country or region within 72 hours.
The move will boost international
tourism, commercial and trade cooperation as well as cultural exchanges,
said Chen Zongyao, a senior provincial government official on Monday.
Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang, is one of the favorite destinations for domestic tourists. But its inbound tourism is weak.
In the first half of this year, Hangzhou
received 48 million domestic tourist arrivals and only 1.5 million from
overseas, according to the municipal tourism commission.
The same visa-free policy is already in
place in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Kunming, Chengdu, Chongqing,
Shenyang, Dalian and Guilin.
The State Council, China’s cabinet, issued a guideline in August to further expand the policy.
Before now,in China, there are only a
few cities enjoying the policy, like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou,
Chongqing, Shenyang etc. In cities which haven’t adopted the policy,
international travelers can only stay less than 24 hours in specified
areas.
Travelers with international passports from these countries can enjoy these offer:
Schengen Countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary,
Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands,
Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden. SwitzerlandOther European Countries: Albania,Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Croatia, Ireland, Macedonia, Republic of Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Serbia, UK, Ukraine
America: US, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile
Oceania: Australia, New Zealand
Asia: Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore, Brunei, UAE, Qatar
