In the first quarter of this year, Beijing has recorded a total of 891,000 inbound passenger trips, marking a year-on-year increase of 61.3 percent. In terms of tourist composition, there were 147,000 visitors from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), the Macao SAR and the Taiwan region, accounting for 16.5 percent of the total, with an increase of 32.0 percent. Inbound visitors from foreign countries reached 744,000, making up 83.5 percent of the total and increasing by 68.7 percent. Among them, Asian tourists (excluding Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and Taiwan region) made 368,000 visits, up by 95.2 percent. European tourists made 227,000 visits, up by 65.5 percent. American tourist arrivals in Beijing reached 93,000, a 28.7 percent increase. Oceanian tourists made 36,000 visits to Beijing, an increase of 1.3 times. African tourists accounted for 20,000 visits, marking a 63.7 percent surge. By country or region of origin, the top ten sources of inbound visitors were: China's Hong Kong SAR, Russia, China's Taiwan region, Malaysia, the United States, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Japan, Singapore, and Australia.
Beijing's inbound tourism has been booming thanks to the increasingly convenient travel policies. For example, Beijing's ports have piloted the 240-hour temporary entry information pre-approval system for foreign nationals, along with special lanes for temporary entry permit issuance and border inspection. "One-stop" service counters for inbound tourists have been set up at Beijing Capital International Airport and Beijing Daxing International Airport. In addition, a barrier-free payment service tourism demonstration zone along the Beijing Central Axis has been built.
Beijing's inbound tourism products have also become increasingly diverse. New tourism products such as "Roaming Beijing", intangible cultural heritage experiences, and visits to Universal Beijing Resort have been launched. The city also launched its first-ever free layover tour service for international transit passengers－the "Half-Day Tour of Beijing's Essence". Moreover, a total of 12 curated movie-themed routes have been opened to celebrate the Beijing International Film Festival.
(Source: Official WeChat account of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism)
