(Yicai) Dec. 7 -- Searches for ‘Singapore’ on the Chinese travel platform Trip.com surged 80 percent within an hour today, following news of a 30-day mutual visa exemption policy.

With the number of flights between Singapore and China increasing, the two countries will make travel easier with a 30-day mutual visa exemption, Lawrence Wong, Singapore’s deputy prime minister and minister of finance, said today, according to news outlet Huanqiu.com.

The hope is that tourism can recover to the pre-pandemic level, with even more direct flights, Wong said at the 19th meeting of the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation, an annual top-level platform between both countries’ governments.

The 30-day visa-free arrangement will also enable more personnel exchanges and strengthen the bilateral relationship, he added.

As of 1 p.m. Beijing time, searches for ‘Singapore,’ plane tickets and related hotels jumped 80 percent, 90 percent, and 50 percent, respectively, an hour after news broke about the visa-free announcement, according to data from Trip.com.

Singapore is one of the most popular destinations for Chinese tourists, and China is the second-largest source of inbound tourists for Singapore. The city state welcomed 1 million Chinese tourists in the first nine months of this year, recovering to 35 percent of the level seen in the same period of 2019.

China announced the resumption of a 15-day visa-free entry policy for Singapore on July 26.

Singapore’s move will form a new visa-free route connecting Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, a traditionally popular circuit of destinations for Chinese tourists, and travel to the three countries may increase in 2024, said Cheng Chaogong, chief researcher with the Tongcheng Research Institute.

Other countries, including Georgia, Tunisia, and Sri Lanka, have also announced visa-free access for Chinese visitors this year.

Editor: Tom Litting