Starting from May 15 last year, foreign tour groups that came to China by cruise ship and organized and received by domestic travel agencies can enter the country without visa from 13 cruise ports along my country's coast. After nearly a year of fermentation, this favorable policy achieved explosive growth in "cruise inbound tourism" in the first quarter of this year.

  In the first quarter of this year, Xiamen Port welcomed five cruises to the port, receiving nearly 3,000 foreign passengers in total. More than 30% of passengers left the country through ports from other provinces and cities after entering the country through ports from other provinces and cities. The cross-domain linkage effect was highlighted. In the first quarter of this year, Fujian Province received 153 million tourists, and the total number of tourists spent 209.095 billion yuan, an increase of 14.2% and 15.5% year-on-year respectively. According to statistics from Xiamen Gaoqi Border Inspection Station, there will be 14 more cruise routes from Xiamen to home ports from countries and regions such as Japan and the Philippines, as well as three international visiting port cruises from Xiamen.

  Australian traveler Josie: We take a boat from Vietnam to Xiamen and will continue to Shanghai. Since I am a travel agent in Australia, I will fly back to Melbourne when I arrive in Shanghai. I think the visa-free policy is great, and many of my customers have come to China.

  In addition to the 240-hour transit visa-free policy, the visa-free policy for Japan and South Korea has also made Shandong a popular check-in place for entry. Since the implementation of the policy, taking liner to China has been popular among Korean tourists. According to statistics from Shandong Border Inspection General Station, 84,000 Korean tourists were allowed to enter without visa in the first quarter, accounting for 83.1% of the total number of foreign tourists without visa in the overseas visa. A total of more than 12,000 cruise passengers and crew were inspected and released, an increase of about 180% year-on-year compared with the first quarter of 2024. Among them, on April 1, Shandong welcomed the largest Korean inbound tourism group this year. Nearly 400 tourists from the Korean Walking Ball Association entered the country through Weihai, Shandong and started a three-day "Travel with the event".

  Chen Xiao, director of the Border Inspection Department of Qingdao Border Inspection Station, Shandong Border Inspection General Station: On the evening of April 10, the "Ida Modu" cruise ship carried more than 6,400 passengers and crew to complete the departure clearance and departed for Fukuoka, Japan and Jeju Island, South Korea. Coupled with the incoming passenger flow on that day, the number of people entering and leaving the Qingdao cruise home port exceeded 10,000 for the first time, this data set a record since the operation of the cruise home port in 2015.

  Another thing that continues to be popular in Shekou, Shenzhen is also the one that continues to be popular. In the first quarter, the Shekou Border Inspection Station inspected and released more than 10,000 people entering and leaving the cruise. On March 15, the first luxury cruise ship independently operated by my country, the Gulangyu, was berthed at the Shekou cruise home port. It is the first international cruise ship to enter Shenzhen in 2025. In the future, large cruise ships such as the "Pacific World" and "Ida Mediterranean" will be berthed in Shenzhen one after another.

  Guangxi and Yunnan's "cross-border travel" performance in the first quarter is impressive

  The reporter learned from the press conference of the State Immigration Administration on the 15th that the policy of "Visa-free entry of ASEAN countries' tour groups into Xishuangbanna, Yunnan" issued and implemented in the first quarter, making Xishuangbanna and other places a popular choice for inbound travel in ASEAN countries. In the past few days, the Water Song Festival in Yunnan is in full swing, allowing foreign friends entering the country to experience the excitement and vitality of traditional Chinese festivals.

  During the Water Splashing Festival, water splashes and drums and music are heard on the Lancang River. Tourists from Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and other countries splash water and local Dai people together to send blessings, participate in the water lantern prayer ceremony, and integrate into the cheerful elephant feet drumming and traditional Dai songs and dances. Special activities such as ten thousand people splashing water and intangible cultural heritage exhibitions have become an important window for ASEAN tourists to "immerse" to experience national culture. According to statistics from Mohan Border Inspection Station, the peak inbound in a single day during the Water Splashing Festival reached 9,300 people, a record high.

  Lao tourist: I came to China to experience the Water Song Festival here and felt very happy. I feel that it is very convenient to pass the test here now, and I like China very much.

  Guangxi is also popular for short-distance cross-border tours. At Dongxing Port, the land port with the largest passenger flow to Vietnam, a large number of tourists are waiting to clear the clearance starting from 8 am every morning. According to statistics from the Dongxing Border Inspection Station, in the first quarter, there were more than 2.11 million people entering and leaving the Dongxing Port, including more than 2,700 Vietnamese tourists and 22,000 Vietnamese tourists entered China through the Dongxing Port.

[Editor in charge: Zhang Qiaosu]