While once considered to be among the most closed-off countries in the world to foreigners, China has over the last five years taken major steps to open up and bring international tourists in.
What started out as a pilot program granting visa-free access to several countries in the European Union was with time expanded to what is now more than 70 countries whose citizens can come to China as tourists for 30 days without going through the previous process of presenting booked plane tickets and hotel stays at an embassy.
The latest report from the World Travel & Tourism Council shows that just over 68 million international visitors came to China in 2025 — this is a 15.5% increase from the previous year and nearly triple the average global tourism growth of 5.4%.
China sees international tourist arrivals spike just as U.S. numbers drop
The United States, meanwhile, saw its number of international arrivals drop by 5.5% year-over-year to 68.3 million which, in turn, means that the continuation of current trends will lead to China overtaking the U.S. on the tourism front in 2026.
The massive dropoff in international arrivals began promptly after the start of President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House. The administration’s anti-immigrant focus has been scaring away tourists who fear getting caught up while Trump’s antagonistic stance toward Canada has also led to a major drop in another major tourism market to the U.S.
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Data from the Canadian government shows double-digit drops in the number of land and airport crossings from citizens coming back to Canada from trips to the U.S. month after month since spring 2025.
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China is now “a major force in business travel”
“China is on track to reclaim its position as the world’s largest outbound travel market, with spending forecast to surge by 22.5% to nearly $280 billion in 2026, surpassing the U.S.,” the World Travel & Tourism Council said of the numbers “The country is also a major force in business travel, ranking second worldwide with $192 billion in spending, reinforcing its global influence across corporate segments.”
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Due to the history of strained relations between Beijing and Washington, the United States has so far not been included in the list of countries to which China granted visa-free access in the last three years.
The country has, however, taken some steps to ease the restrictions placed on Americans by getting rid of the prebooked accommodation requirement for visa applications and adding new cities to its visa-free transit program for those passing through the country for short periods of time along with its extension from the original 72 days.
“China is emerging not only as the standout performer in Asia-Pacific, but also as a leader for how to co-ordinated policy, innovation, and long-term investment in infrastructure can drive high-impact tourism growth at scale,” the WTTC report states further. “China is also playing a central role in propelling Asia-Pacific to become the fastest-growing travel and tourism region in the world, achieving 8.1% growth.”
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