INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Driven by China's departure tax refund policy, the number of inbound tourism orders for China's five-day May Day holiday period has surged
to 173 percent year on year, according to Trip.com Group, a leading online travel agency in China.As one of the popular destinations for
inbound tourism, east China's Shanghai has further optimized the departure tax refund consumption environment during the holiday to allow
foreign tourists to enjoy more convenient services.Since China launched a series of new visa-free entry and transit policies, the number of
foreign tourists entering Shanghai has increased significantly
In the first quarter of this year, the city received 1.743 million international tourists, a year-on-year increase of 37.1 percent.China has
updated its tax refund policy for foreign tourists, moving from a refund-upon-departure to a refund-upon-purchase model
This change comes as more international visitors travel to China for shopping, purchasing items such as food, clothing, handicrafts, mobile
phones, and computers.Recently, the country has introduced a series of new measures to optimize payment convenience for foreign tourists
Under the new policy, the minimum purchase threshold for departure tax refunds has been reduced to 200 yuan (about $27.8) from 500 yuan.As
one of the pilot cities for the "refund-upon-purchase" policy, Shanghai currently has 587 tax refund stores, of which 284 shops offer the
policy."In recent years, Shanghai's departure tax refund sales have always been among the highest in the country," said Liu Min, deputy
director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, noting that the city's tax refund stores issued 86,000 tax refund forms to
foreign tourists, with sales of tax refunded goods reaching 2.37 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 86.6 percent.According to
Bloomberg, the World Tourism and Travel Council predicted that Chinese tourists' domestic travel spending is expected to reach $968 billion
this year, up nearly 19 percent from 2024.Virginia Messina, vice president of the council, said China's tourism industry recovered strongly
last year, and the outlook is quite optimistic.Meanwhile, a series of measures launched by China such as visa-free policies to attract
foreign tourists will also be effective, Bloomberg noted
It is estimated that international tourists' consumption in China this year will reach 1.04 trillion yuan, an increase of 13 percent over
2019.According to the Travel And Tour World magazine, China is beating the United States in global tourism by offering visa-free and
simplified entry policies alongside convenient transportation and warm hospitality, which all make traveling to China more convenient and
attractive for international tourists.
