(Yicai) Dec. 19 -- China’s inbound tourism market still has huge potential and can grow by an additional USD100 billion to USD200 billion, according to a co-founder of online travel agency Trip.Com.

The full potential has not yet been fully tapped, presenting a huge opportunity to showcase China's charm and enhance global engagement, Liang Jianzhang said at the Trip.Com Global Partner Summit yesterday.

“The next three to five years will be golden years for the tourism industry,” Trip.Com Chief Executive Jane Sun said at the event. This year, inbound tourism has recovered to about 90 percent of 2019’s level, boosted by China’s expanded visa-free entry policy, she added.

Since November last year, the country has been expanding visa waivers, allowing citizens from several countries in Europe, Southeast Asia, and other regions to visit for sightseeing or business without requiring a visa. Visa-free stays were for up to 15 days initially, but were recently extended to as long as 30 days for some countries.

Tourists from 54 countries granted visa-free entry almost tripled in 2024 from last year, with Italy, Spain, Russia, Iceland, and Singapore the fastest-growing source of visitors among them, according to Trip.Com’s data.

Two days ago China announced a major relaxation of its visa-free transit policy. Overseas visitors can now stay for up to 240 hours, versus 72 and 144 hours previously, and can enter through any of 60 ports in 24 provinces, regions, and municipalities, an increase from 39 and 19.

Within half an hour of the announcement, searches for Chinese destinations on Trip.Com’s overseas platforms in Europe, the Americas, and the Asia-Pacific jumped by 85 percent, 163 percent, and 116 percent, respectively. France, Canada, and Russia headed the surge in interest.

Trip.Com's data also reveals that international flights to and from China have returned to about 80 percent of their 2019 level, with seat capacity on European routes rebounding to 96 percent.

Editor: Futura Costaglione