On May 15, the National Immigration Administration held a press conference to issue an announcement on the full implementation of the visa-free entry policy for foreign tour groups on cruise ships.
The announcement proposes that from May 15, 2024, foreign tour groups that come to China by cruise ship and are received by domestic travel agencies can enter China visa-free from 13 cruise ports along the coast of the mainland: Tianjin, Dalian, Liaoning, Shanghai, Lianyungang, Jiangsu, Wenzhou and Zhoushan in Zhejiang, Xiamen in Fujian, Qingdao in Shandong, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong, Beihai in Guangzhou, Haikou and Sanya in Hainan; The length of stay does not exceed 15 days; The scope of activities is coastal provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) and Beijing Municipality.
With the full implementation of the visa-free entry policy for foreign tour groups on cruise ships, what significant changes and impacts will it bring? How will it promote the cruise economy?
What are the changes in the visa-free entry of foreign tour groups on cruise ships?
Before May 15, passengers entering Tianjin Port by cruise travel need to fill in the foreigner entry card, keep fingerprint biometric information according to regulations, and stamp the entry and exit verification stamp, and if they need to leave Tianjin for sightseeing in Beijing and other places, they also need to apply for a temporary entry permit or apply for a stay permit, and each passenger will spend at least 3 to 5 minutes to go through the relevant procedures on average. If you need to apply for a temporary entry permit, it will take longer.
According to the latest regulations of the National Immigration Administration, including the Tianjin International Cruise Home Port, from May 15, foreign tour groups that come to China by cruise ship and are received by domestic travel agencies can enter the country without a visa for 15 days from all cruise ports along the mainland, involving 13 cruise ports across the country. Correspondingly, the relevant entry clearance procedures will be further simplified.
Li Zhiming, Deputy Director of the Border Inspection Department of Tianjin Border Inspection Station: Our border inspection authorities can exempt foreign passengers who enter the country by cruise ship from collecting fingerprint biometric information, and passengers who leave the country on the same cruise ship can be exempted from stamping the entry and exit inspection stamp and filling in the foreigner's entry and exit card. The most direct impact of the border inspection procedures for cruise passengers has become more convenient, and the number of visiting port cruise ships visiting Tianjin will definitely increase. In addition, foreign tourists visit Tianjin by cruise, and after landing in Tianjin, more and more tourists will come to our Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, especially to Beijing.
Entry and exit procedures will be simplified not only for cruise ship visitors, but also for crew members on international cruise ships, which will also be simplified from May 15.
Li Tao, Deputy Director of the Border Inspection Management Department of the National Immigration Administration: According to the ship's application, the border inspection authorities will simplify the entry and exit procedures for crew members who arrive at Hong Kong with the cruise ship and do not land, and can be exempted from submitting entry and exit documents; For foreign crew members who need to return to the ship after disembarking and landing, the electronic temporary entry permit will be accepted and issued in a centralized manner, and the system will automatically verify it to achieve fast and convenient landing and return to the ship.
In addition to the larger cruise home ports such as Tianjin and Shanghai, in the past, some smaller cruise home ports rarely became the inbound port of call for large international cruise ships, or the call time was shorter. For example, in the home port of Qingdao cruise ships, the average stay time of inbound cruise ships in Qingdao is only one day. The implementation of the new policy will also bring changes to the home port of Qingdao cruise ship.
Wang Yishun, staff of the Cruise Culture and Tourism Department of Qingdao International Cruise Port Service Administration: After the implementation of the new policy, more cruise ships can choose to visit Qingdao directly, and the stay time in Qingdao will be more and longer, and the number of inbound tourists in Qingdao will be further increased, which provides great convenience for Qingdao to develop cruise ships and inbound tourism business.
How to promote cruise tourism consumption and economy?
2024 is seen as a year of recovery for China's cruise market. In December 2023, a cruise ship loaded with nearly 2,000 tourists from all over the world departed from Miami, USA, for the "longest in history" round the world cruise trip for 275 days. During this time, Melody of the Seas traveled across four oceans, visited seven continents, and called at more than 150 destinations in 60 countries.
On April 7 this year, the cruise ship arrived in Tianjin, its 68th port of visit, for two days, and tourists can visit both Beijing and Tianjin.
This year, Tianjin will also welcome more international cruise ships, which will not only activate the tourism market, but also drive the development of surrounding hotels, restaurants, shopping, culture and other industries. The reason why Tianjin can become a travel destination for international luxury cruise routes is that convenient disembarkation procedures are indispensable.
Since 2016, Shanghai has taken the lead in implementing a 15-day visa-free policy for foreign tour groups to enter Shanghai by cruise. On April 26, 2024, the cruise ship "Spectrum of the Seas", carrying more than 4,000 international tourists, arrived at the port of Shanghai, which is also the record for the highest number of international tourists entering China by single boat.
Because of the particularity of cruise tourism, for tourists, they need not only the services of the port, but also the tourism products to be attractive. After landing, most of the tourists go straight to the port parking lot and seamlessly transfer to the tour bus. There are a total of 16 high-quality, in-depth and customized "one-day tour" routes, which will allow them to appreciate the charm of Shanghai.
For foreign tourists on cruises, facilitating and smooth entry is only the first step. How can they experience better travel services in a limited time? On the morning of May 15, the National Immigration Administration held a press conference to introduce that in the future, it will continue to improve the convenience of inbound tourism. Sort out the whole process and all fields of inbound tourism, find and solve the difficult problems of blockages, and make foreign tourists' travel in China smoother and more comfortable.
Shi Zeyi, Deputy Director General of the International Exchange and Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism: Enrich the supply of inbound tourism products and services. Encourage and guide tourism market entities to launch corresponding inbound tourism products, design high-quality tourism routes, provide interactive experience projects, improve the internationalization level of tourism public services, and better meet the tourism consumption needs of tourists, so that foreign tourists can not only see the most beautiful Chinese scenery, but also feel the charm of Chinese culture.
Cruise entry visa-free is a starting gun, but also a relay run, from the port to the surrounding attractions, catering, shopping, travel agencies, etc., one after another, not only to run their own stick, but also to pass each baton well.
Source: CCTV news client