China Travel's Next Five Years: First-Ever National Tourism Plan Sets 190M Inbound Visitor Target
The State Council approved China's first-ever national tourism master plan, targeting 190 million inbound visitor trips and $150B+ in spending by 2030. Here's what it means for travelers — from wider visa-free access to easier payments.
Key takeaway
国务院已批复《旅游强国建设"十五五"规划》——这是我国首个以'旅游强国'为主题的国家级专项规划，明确到 2030 年入境旅游人次达 1.9 亿、总花费超 1500 亿美元，并部署稳步扩大免签国家范围、提升支付/语言/交通便利化、扩大离境退税等入境全链条措施（中国旅游新闻网 10-20 综述；规划全文 7 月由文旅部门公布）。
Full report
China just did something it has never done before: it approved a national master plan built entirely around becoming a tourism powerhouse. For travelers, the next five years look very different from the last five.
What just happened
The State Council has approved the 15th Five-Year Plan for Building a Tourism Powerhouse (旅游强国建设"十五五"规划) — the first national-level special plan of its kind, according to a China Tourism News policy review published Oct 20. The plan sets 2030 targets that are hard to ignore: 190 million inbound visitor trips and over $150 billion in inbound tourism spending (per the plan text circulated by provincial culture and tourism departments in July).
Why it matters for travelers
The plan's inbound section reads like a checklist of the exact friction points travelers complain about. It calls for:
- steadily expanding the visa-free country list (currently 50 unilateral, 57 for 240-hour transit, 61 for Hainan's 30-day entry);
- more international routes and tourist trains;
- smoother payments, telecom, accommodation, booking and multilingual signage;
- more "traveler-friendly business districts" and wider tax-refund coverage, including on-the-spot refunds (即买即退);
- more foreign-language guides and smart translation devices at major destinations.
The momentum behind it
The policy didn't appear in a vacuum. In H1 2026, inbound foreign arrivals hit 22.91 million, up 20.4% year on year, with visa-free entries accounting for nearly 80% (up 30.6%); travel service exports reached RMB 229.2 billion, up 31.1% (China Tourism News, Oct 20). Q3 kept climbing: 23.27 million foreign crossings, up 15.6% (National Immigration Administration, Oct 20).
What's changing right now (not in 2030)
- The 48-country unilateral visa waiver runs through Dec 31, 2026 (Brunei indefinite; Russia extended to Dec 31, 2027) — check expiry dates before booking far ahead.
- 240-hour transit visa-free: 57 countries, 65 ports across 24 provinces — still the fastest way to stack 10 days onto a layover.
- Hainan 30-day visa-free: 61 countries, all open ports in the province.
- Watch for new visa-free additions and "experience China" product lines — the plan explicitly prioritizes food, traditional crafts, tech experiences, wellness, study tours and festivals.
The takeaway
China is now writing inbound tourism growth into a five-year plan with named targets. For travelers that means one direction: easier to get in, easier to pay, easier to stay — and a lot more worth staying for.
Plan your China trip around the new policies at chinapie.ai.
What to do next
旅行者实操三件事：①出行前核对本国护照免签/过境免签最新有效期（单边免签 48 国 2026-12-31 到期）；②中转旅客优先利用 240 小时过境免签（57 国、65 口岸、24 省可停留 10 天）；③关注'体验中国'新品线，早订高性价比的饮食/手作/科技类体验项目（可上 chinapie.ai 浏览可预订项目）。
What may vary
规划为五年期方向性文件，分省落地节奏与配套细则不同；单边免签是否在 2026-12-31 后续期以国家移民管理局/外交部最新公告为准；离境退税'即买即退'覆盖城市与商户范围仍在扩展中。