China's visa-free arrivals hit 8.99M in Q3 2026, yet per-visitor spend averaged just $357.3 in 2025—below the global average. QR and payment barriers limit spending.
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China is seeing a surge in visa-free foreign visitors, but with average spending at just US$357 per inbound tourist in 2025, turning more arrivals into greater consumer spending remains a major challenge.
The issue has become increasingly apparent as China expands its visa-free policies and seeks to attract more international visitors.
More Visa-Free Visitors, but Spending Growth Is Falling Behind
On October 20, China's National Immigration Administration (NIA) released its latest figures, showing that the country recorded 192 million border crossings in the third quarter of 2026, up 7.9% year on year.
Of these, foreign nationals entering China without a visa accounted for 8.992 million visits, representing 77.5% of all foreign arrivals during the period. The figure marked a 24.1% increase compared with the same period last year.
However, figures presented just two days earlier at a major tourism industry conference highlighted a different side of China's inbound tourism boom.
In 2025, China received 154.5 million inbound tourist visits, but average spending per visitor was only US$357.3, equivalent to just 29.1% of the global average.
The gap has not disappeared in 2026.
According to data from travel platform Trip.com, inbound tourist visits to China increased by 49.72% year on year in the first half of 2026, while spending rose by 44.01%.
In other words, spending is growing, but not as quickly as visitor numbers.
Li Jun, director of the Institute of International Service Trade at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, has noted that inbound tourism is no longer simply an issue for the tourism industry. It has become an important intersection of China's efforts to build a new development paradigm, expand high-level opening-up and boost consumption.
But attracting more visitors does not automatically translate into stronger tourism spending.
So what is preventing China from turning its growing number of international arrivals into greater economic benefits?
US$357.3 Per Visitor: Less Than 30% of the Global Average
At the 13th China Tourism Industry Development Conference on October 18, Xu Peng, vice chairman of the World Tourism Alliance (WTA) and president of the Zhejiang Tourism Association, highlighted the structural problem facing China's inbound tourism sector: high visitor numbers but relatively low spending.
Xu pointed out that short stays and insufficient spending depth remain two of the most pressing shortcomings of inbound tourism.
On the streets, this low-spending pattern can be seen in the popularity of affordable, distinctly Chinese experiences: taking the subway, riding shared bicycles, eating jianbing (Chinese savory crepes) and zhajiangmian (noodles with soybean paste), or grabbing a cup of Luckin Coffee.
Recently, a Spanish tourist asked a reporter whether shared bicycles in China were really that cheap.
When told that the starting fare for one major bike-sharing service was less than RMB 2 for a ride of up to 60 minutes, she looked surprised and said it was even cheaper than she had expected.
A tour guide who regularly leads English-speaking groups told reporters that most of his foreign visitors still prefer traditional attractions such as the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and the Temple of Heaven.
Although booking tickets can be challenging, admission prices at these attractions are generally not particularly high.
Even newer experiences, such as cycling through Beijing's hutongs or stopping for coffee, do not necessarily involve much spending.
The guide added that more carefully designed itineraries, with attractions effectively connected and accompanied by quality guiding services and curated experiences, naturally cost more. Such a package could cost around RMB 3,000 per person for two days.
He described this as a mid-range price, or even slightly below average, for comparable services.
However, reporters also noticed that many foreign tourists on the streets were traveling independently rather than joining organized tour groups.
Among them were followers of the "Becoming Chinese" trend, which swept across overseas social media at the beginning of 2026. Another related trend, known as "China Maxxing," has also gained attention.
Drinking hot water, adding goji berries to daily routines and wearing slippers have all become part of the online fascination with Chinese lifestyles and wellness habits.
In April, Wang Jun, deputy head of the General Administration of Customs of China, said at a State Council Information Office press conference that this cultural trend, which began online, had started translating into demand for Chinese products.
In the first quarter of 2026, exports of thermos bottles and tea reached RMB 5 billion and RMB 2.7 billion, respectively.
Several foreign tourists told reporters that the "Becoming Chinese" trend had indeed influenced their travel plans. However, when it came to actual purchases, their spending often amounted to little more than a thermos bottle costing a few dozen yuan or a packet of goji berries.
"Affordable" was a common impression they shared of Chinese-style experiences.
QR Codes: An Unexpected Barrier to Foreign Tourists' Spending
Low spending per visitor is only part of the problem. Even when foreign tourists want to spend money, they can find themselves struggling with the systems needed to do so.
In March 2026, nine government departments, including the Ministry of Commerce, jointly issued measures to promote travel service exports and expand inbound consumption.
The measures called for better data connectivity between regions, improved data monitoring and feedback, and more convenient digital services for overseas visitors entering China.
Despite these policy efforts, practical difficulties remain.
During interviews with foreign tourists, reporters found that QR codes and China's digital payment systems were among the most common sources of confusion.
Two Russian tourists, for example, were unable to distinguish between the "Transport" and "Payment" QR codes in Alipay. They spent considerable time trying to figure out which one to use at a subway entrance before a reporter stepped in to help.
A Spanish couple had difficulty understanding why they needed to present a QR code when taking the subway or bus, but had to scan a code on the bicycle itself when using a shared bike.
They encountered similar confusion when shopping on the street, repeatedly struggling to tell when they should scan a merchant's code and when they should display their own payment code.
The couple also ran into another problem when trying to use Hello Bike, a shared bicycle service.
Although their Alipay app was set to English, scanning the bicycle's QR code redirected them to a Chinese-language interface. They had no idea how to proceed.
Several Singaporean tourists dressed in traditional Chinese costumes for photo shoots near the Forbidden City also struggled to use Didi, China's ride-hailing platform.
They wanted to arrange for their cars to pick them up in a nearby restricted-access area but repeatedly failed to do so. It was only after a reporter explained the restrictions that they understood the situation and abandoned the attempt.
Reporters also repeatedly encountered foreign visitors in shopping malls who could not find the entrances to nearby subway stations.
On an autumn day in Beijing, as trees along Wusi Street turned yellow and Chinese and foreign tourists stopped to take photographs, the contrast was clear: digital services that make everyday life convenient for local residents can still present invisible barriers to international visitors trying to navigate the city and spend money.
Lai Yang, an expert on the Expert Committee of the China General Chamber of Commerce, has pointed out that foreign visitors face varying degrees of difficulty with mobile payments, overseas bank cards, e-commerce, local lifestyle services, online bookings, identity verification and Chinese-language interfaces.
These obstacles directly restrict their spending on shopping, dining, entertainment and everyday services.
"The key to internationalization is not simply adding more English-language signs. It is making sure foreign tourists can use payment systems, e-commerce platforms, ticket booking, food delivery, ride-hailing and instant retail services just as easily as domestic consumers," Lai said.
"Otherwise, the more digitally advanced China becomes, the more serious the bottlenecks for foreign visitors' spending may become. This directly determines whether China's existing consumer services can be converted into actual spending by inbound tourists."
Will Visa-Free Policies Continue to Drive Inbound Tourism?
Making it easier for foreign visitors to spend money requires better technology and more accessible services. Continuing to attract them in the first place, however, depends heavily on policy.
On August 20, citizens of Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam became eligible for China's 240-hour visa-free transit policy and the 30-day visa-free entry policy for Hainan.
With the addition of these two countries, the 240-hour visa-free transit policy now covers 57 countries, while the Hainan 30-day visa-free entry policy applies to 61 countries.
In June, Sun Jie, CEO of Trip.com Group, said in the company's 2026 China Inbound Tourism Development Report that visa-free policies had become a major driver of growth.
Inbound visitor numbers from visa-exempt countries have grown much faster than those from countries whose citizens still require visas, accounting for the vast majority of the sector's additional growth.
She described this as a strategic window for China's inbound tourism market to enter the trillion-yuan scale.
The impact of visa-free policies is also evident in the experiences of individual travelers.
A Lebanese tourist whom reporters met was already a keen admirer of China and had wanted to visit even without visa-free access. On this trip, she brought three British friends along. The three were able to join her partly because they could take advantage of China's visa-free policy.
A Canadian tourist said he had already visited China twice during the visa-free period. However, his American friends were not eligible for the same arrangement, something he regretted.
He also expressed concern that Canada's visa-free access to China was approaching its expiration date.
His concern is not unfounded.
According to information released by China's Foreign Ministry in May 2026, the visa-free arrangement for Brunei has no specified expiration date, while the policy for Russian citizens is in effect until December 31, 2027. The arrangements for citizens of the other 48 countries are scheduled to expire on December 31, 2026.
Notably, China's visa-free policy for Russian citizens was originally due to expire on September 14, 2026, but was extended until the end of 2027 in an announcement made on May 20.
Whether China will extend its visa-free arrangements for other countries remains an important variable in the next stage of inbound tourism development.
The challenge facing China is therefore no longer simply how to attract more foreign visitors. It is how to make their journeys longer, their experiences richer and their spending easier.
More visa-free arrivals may bring more tourists through China's borders, but turning those visitors into higher-spending consumers will require more than just easier entry.
Source: OT-Team(G), 时代周报
