Chongqing will become the fifth Chinese city to offer 72-hour visa-free stays to transit tourists.
According to a Xinhua report, the western Chinese city is planning to offer visa-free travel to international tourists from 45 countries, who enter and exit Chongqing’s Jiangbei International Airport within a 72-hour period, providing they hold a flight ticket to an onward destination.
The initiative was launched in Shanghai last year and has since been rolled-out to Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu.
The scheme will apply to travellers from all EU countries, plus the US, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Brunei, Russia, Ukraine, Qatar and the UAE.
The scheme is intended to boost overseas visitor numbers to China, which have been falling in recent years. Recent figures from the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) showed that just 19 million people visited mainland China in the first eight months of 2013 – down 5% year-on-year.
Pic caption: Chongqing lies on the Yangtze River
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