For three years of the pandemic, the borders were more or less closed, with sky-high ticket prices, long and erratic mandatory quarantines, and visa rules that allowed very few entries. Now the journey has opened again, but the visitors do not show up.
In 2019, before the pandemic, China had 98 million foreign visitors, according to figures from China’s National Immigration Administration. Last year, the number of foreign visitors was just over a third, 35 million.
There are no figures on how much of the visitors are tourists, but figures from China’s tourism agencies show a sharp decline: In the first half of 2019, they had 8.6 million foreign customers, the corresponding figure in 2023 was 480 thousand – less than 6 percent.
There are no figures for the second half of 2023.
The very forbidden city
The foreign tourists do not seem to have come back, this is noticeable when visiting China’s tourist destinations, among other things.
In the Forbidden City in Beijing, SVT meets Sasha Giginjerevic from Serbia, one of the few foreign visitors:
– The Forbidden City is great, but it’s a shame that the whole world doesn’t get to see it. I think they should be more open to the world, he says.
– Maybe that’s why it’s called The Forbidden City?
More and more campaigns are making it more difficult for foreigners
China has changed during the pandemic, and society has become less accommodating to non-Chinese.
Chinese security authorities run campaigns urging China’s citizens to beware of foreign spies, digital Chinese payment solutions have completely replaced card payments and today many everyday activities require identification via a Chinese digital platform. Western apps and platforms are largely banned.
Sasha Giginjerevic is on a business trip with his company in the mining industry, and has not booked his entrance ticket to the Forbidden City himself. It requires that you are registered in Chinese social media and have a Chinese digital payment solution in your phone.
– Obviously not. Everything was booked through our company and we have our own interpreters from our company with us.