China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism launched a nationwide tourism promotion campaign on April 21, anchored by more than RMB1bn ($138.78mn) in subsidies from over 60 partner organisations, with inbound travel placed at the centre of its messaging for the first time, Xinhua reported on April 21.
The campaign runs until May 31 and is timed around the 15th China Tourism Day on May 19. It will feature more than 6,000 measures for tourists across the country, with subsidies provided by a coalition that includes food delivery and lifestyle platform Meituan and payments giant Alipay.
Li Xiaoyong, an official with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, told a press conference that overseas tourism agencies would be invited to China for on-site visits and business negotiations, while promotional activity for Chinese tourism resources would be carried out abroad. The ministry will also work with other government bodies to broaden the range of tourism products available to international visitors and make inbound travel more accessible, Li said.
The campaign comes as China’s inbound figures continue to recover strongly. In the first quarter of 2025, border officers recorded 17.44 million border crossings by foreign nationals, a 33.4% year-on-year increase, according to the National Immigration Administration.
The drive follows a broader resurgence in China’s domestic travel market. Total domestic tourism spending reached RMB5.8 trillion ($815.4bn) in 2024, with 5.62 billion trips recorded, approaching pre-pandemic levels, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. During the National Day Golden Week holiday in October 2025, domestic trips reached 888 million, generating RMB809bn ($113.8bn) in spending.
China has extended unilateral visa-free entry to citizens of nearly 50 countries in 2024 and 2025, including France, Germany, South Korea and Russia, as part of a sustained effort to rebuild international visitor flows following years of border restrictions.
“Tourists have moved from passive sightseeing to active exploration,” said Zhang Xiangyu, head of the Henan Academy of Cultural and Tourism Planning